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SCHOOL FUNDS IN THE PROVINCE 
OF QUEBEC 



GEORGE J. TRUEMAN 



SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS 

FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 

IN THE FACULTY OF PHILOSOPHY 

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 



PUBLISHED BY 

VCtMf)tvsi CoUese, Columbia Winiiitvsiit^ 

NEW YORK CITY 
1920 



SCHOOL FUNDS IN THE PROVINCE 

OF QUEBEC . ^3:^ 



GEORGE J. TRUEMAN 



SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS 

FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 

IN THE FACULTY OF PHILOSOPHY 

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 



PUBLISHED 3Y 

Ceacfjersf College, Columtiia Winiiytviitv 

NEW YORK CITY 
1920 



1 ^^.o 



Copyright, 1920 

By 

GEORGE J. TRUEMAN 




DEC14J92J, / 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction i 

Historical Outline 7 

School Finance and Number of Children 46 

Distribution of the Load 72 

More Funds Required 94 

Provincial and Federal Funds — Conclusions 115 

Bibliography 151 

Index 153 



PREFACE 

Almost all the facts and figures on which this study is based 
were secured from the printed reports and the various year books 
mentioned in the bibliography. I wish to acknowledge especially 
my obligation to Dr. George W. Parmelee, Secretary of the 
Protestant Committee of Public Instruction for the Province of 
Quebec, not only for access to articles written by him on educa- 
tion in the province of Quebec, but for numerous explanations 
given in private letters and conversation. I am under very 
great obligation to Professor George D. Strayer, of Teachers 
College, Columbia University, in whose department and under 
whose careful and encouraging supervision this study was made. 

G. J. T. 



SCHOOL FUNDS IN THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC 



INTRODUCTION 

The war just closed has remarkably stimulated thought in 
every field of human activity. The whole question of education 
is receiving an unusual amount of consideration. The daily 
papers are crov/ded with criticisms and suggestions, teachers' 
organizations are appointing commissions, and gdvernjhents are 
blocking out new legislation. In no place is there more unrest 
and criticism than in the province of Quebec where the discussion 
seems to centre around the questions of compulsory attendance, 
and increased funds for school purposes. 

There is some relation between the two, for a compulsory law, 
if enforced, would greatly increase the number of children at 
school, and thus add directly to the expense of education. Not 
only this, but a comparatively small number of schools in the 
province are now in a position to give eight years of valuable 
teaching to thd* pupils who might attend. At the present time 
the great majority leave school before the end of the fifth year, 
and one of the reasons for this is that there is nothing taught in 
the school to make it worth while to remain longer. 

Again, a compulsory law to be enforced must be strongly 
backed by the authority of the provincial government; but in 
this democratic country local authorities snap their fingers at offi- 
cers of the province, unless some pressure can be brought to bear. 
At present the provincial grants to school municipalities are so 
small that the withholding of them would often cause no serious 
inconvenience. 

There should accompany the compulsory legislation, statutory 
provision for schools and text-books, absolutely free up through 
the compulsory grades or ages. In the province at the present 
time few schools are free, as the old-fashioned rate bill is com- 
pulsory in two thirds of the municipalities even in elementary 
schools. Free text-books are unknown. 

Before a compulsory law can be enforced, or should be enforced, 
much more money must be available for school purposes. It 

2 



2 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

is easy to call for more money, but there are no royal roads 
to provincial wealth, and the schools must be paid for by the 
people of the country. 

It is because the financial problem seems to be so fundamental 
that I have believed it worth while to examine somewhat closely 
into the sources of our present school funds, the distribution of 
the burden of taxation, and possible means of securing further 
income. 

While it is the custom to make sharp distinctions between 
municipal, provincial, and federal funds, they all have their 
source in the pockets of the same people, and one cannot fairly 
be studied except in relation to the other two. In the study of 
this question interesting bypaths have constantly come into view, 
and while it may appear at times as if these paths were being 
followed too far, it will generally be found that they lead back to 
the main highway. 

It may at first sight occur to the careful reader that the deduc- 
tions should be based on taxation rates through a number of 
years and not on those of one year only. The criticism is not a 
valid one; although rates vary slightly from year to year, and 
the general tendency is upwards, the large number of tax-levying 
units considered provides sufficient correction, and takes away 
the danger of basing conclusions on exceptional cases. 

I have at the outset given a comparatively long description of 
the development of the present system. This seemed absolutely 
necessary as a preliminary to the understanding of the compli- 
cated problems found in the province of Quebec. 

If we estimate from the founding of the city of Quebec in 1608 
and consider the province under English rule from 1763 to the 
present, the French and English periods have each lasted one 
hundred and fifty-five years. No one could understand the 
present dual system of schools who did not trace its development 
on through the struggles of race and creed from the earliest days 
until the present. Such a study gives one also the sympathetic 
viewpoint so necessary for a fair estimate of education in Quebec. 

The section dealing with the present method of financing the 
schools and the number of children to be educated presents 
several comparisons with other provinces and states. These 
may often be misleading unless it is kept in mind that almost 
half of the teachers do not bargain for salaries at all, but have 



Introduction 3 

dedicated their lives to this particular kind of religious work. 
This makes it exceedingly hard to increase the salaries of the 
Catholic teachers beyond a living wage, for they are, in a sense, 
in competition with the religious teachers who ask and receive a 
bare living. This also keeps down the charges in Catholic con- 
vents and boys' schools, and does much to perpetuate the idea 
that teachers are like preachers and missionaries, and should be 
glad to serve the community for as near nothing as will keep 
body and soul together. 

The problem of school funds is made still more difficult by the 
large families of the French population, among the very largest in 
the world to-day. This gives a much higher percentage of chil- 
dren in the population, and makes the task of educating them 
more than one third heavier, if this factor alone is considered, 
than in a province like British Columbia. 

In the section dealing with the distribution of the load of 
taxation, there are, speaking generally, two kinds of comparisons 
kept constantly in sight: first, the rates of taxation in the dif- 
ferent groups of school municipalities as compared with each 
other, and with those of Ontario and Massachusetts, and second, 
the variations between the different municipalities themselves, 
as they are found within their groups. The variations within 
the groups are very great, almost beyond credence. A study of 
this section will convince the most conservative that no more 
undemocratic system could be conceived. 

A study of tax exemptions shows that this province is only 
taxing about seventy -five per cent of the real estate, and a study 
of valuations leads to the conclusion that property generally is 
assessed at from one third to two thirds of its selling value. 
When it is remembered that there is no tax whatever on personal 
property, and that there has been a remarkable increase in the 
last few decades in "intangible" forms of wealth, the conclusion 
is inevitable that Quebec is suffering, not from overtaxation, but 
from a bad adjustment or distribution of the tax burden. 

Attention is called to some of the purposes for which more 
money is needed in education to-day. Not much is said about 
vocational training, technical education, medical inspection, and 
the care of exceptional groups, although Quebec is especially in 
need of all of these. The lamentable fact that a very large per- 
centage of the children are not at school at all, and that more than 



4 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

half of those that do attend drop out before the fourth year at 
school, seems to dwarf the other problems and make the solution 
of this so fundamental as to receive first place. 

Striking facts in regard to teachers' salaries and the small 
numbers attending normal schools are also presented, and the 
conclusion reached that only by greatly increased salaries can a 
trained staff be secured and kept. 

Although the government now makes large grants to educa- 
tion, only a little more than one third goes to aid the public 
schools of the province, and this is mainly distributed on a wrong 
basis. While a small percentage is used to aid poor municipali- 
ties so called, the greater part is distributed with no reference 
whatever to the need, and, as a consequence, brings about no 
equalization to tax rates. Larger government grants distributed 
on a proper basis would equalize the tax burden, make uniformly 
good schools possible, and at the same time give the Superintend- 
ent of Public Instruction a leverage on the local communities 
that would make progress rapid and sure. 

In order to get a grasp of the whole financial problem and ascer- 
tain, if possible, where the increased funds can be most fairly and 
readily found, an examination is also made of provincial and 
federal revenues. The province is shut up in its taxing powers 
between the municipality, on the one hand, and the federal gov- 
ernment on the other, and, like the other provinces of Canada, 
has an inelastic revenue which is scarcely sufficient to meet 
present demands. 

Education is really a Dominon-wide concern. The federal 
government acknowledged this in 1913 when it made large grants 
to the difi^erent provinces for agricultural education. The Royal 
Commission recommends that federal grants be given for technical 
education, and it is understood that these grants are likely to be 
made this year. But the need for primary education is far 
greater in Quebec to-day than that of higher technical training or 
even vocational education. 

To supplement the present funds raised by taxation on real 
estate, the Dominion government should make large annual 
grants to the provincial governments, and the funds thus secured 
should be administered by the various departments of education 
on a basis carefully worked out by educational experts from all 
over Canada. In the last section of this study a good deal of data 



Introduction 5 

are brought together in regard to the taxation of income. Quota- 
tions are given from leading economists on this and other forms of 
taxation. A general income tax is a new thing in Canada, and I 
thought it well to compare laws of other countries with our own, 
and give the experience of a state like Wisconsin where this 
method of raising funds for public purposes has proved such an 
undoubted success. My excuse for quoting at length the opinions 
of such economists as Professors Seligman of Columbia, Bullock 
of Harvard, and Adams of Yale, is that these men have made 
the study of this question a life's work; I have not, and must 
therefore back my argument by opinion of experts in that 
field. If it is asked why the income tax should be dealt with at 
all, my reply is that I undertook to find the money for extending 
the work of education in this province. 

According to the present system of direct taxation real estate 
bears almost the whole burden of supporting municipal institu- 
tions. As there is no personal property tax in the province of 
Quebec, a large and increasing proportion of wealth has been 
escaping taxation. One remedy would be for Quebec to levy an 
income tax for herself. But the federal and provincial govern- 
ments are trying to work out a separation of the sources of their 
respective revenues, and provincial governments have at least 
tacitly agreed to leave the income tax to the federal government. 
This is undoubtedly a good arrangement, but Quebec and the 
other provinces of Canada have a right to ask that a certain per 
cent of the tax be given over to the provinces for purposes of 
education. This is not a new principle in taxation. The pro- 
ceeds of the Wisconsin income tax are distributed as follows: 
six per cent to the state, twenty per cent to the county, and 
seventy per cent to the municipality from which it came. This 
is not a democratic distribution, for the rich municipality does 
not help its poor neighbors. 

Whatever money the Dominion hands back to the provinces 
for educational purposes should be apportioned on the basis of 
requirement, not of wealth. If Dominion funds are granted to'the 
provinces for education, should there not be established a federal 
department of education with a minister responsible to Parlia- 
ment? In the United States a bill is now before Congress making 
provisions for such a department in that country. The situa- 
tion in the United States is reviewed and the conclusion reached 



6 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

that such a department would be a great stimulus and guiding 
influence in Canadian education, and that it could be so organized 
as not to interfere in any way with the control each province 
now has of its own educational system. 

Such, in brief, are the tasks I have undertaken and the con- 
clusions reached. I believe sufficient data are presented to con- 
vince any careful reader of the correctness of these conclusions 
and of the necessity for acting on the recommendations put 
forward. 



CHAPTER I 
HISTORICAL OUTLINE 

The French Regime. Quebec was ceded to Great Britain in 
1763. Before that date the population was entirely French in 
language and nationality and mainly Roman Catholic in religion. 
Even in Europe at that time education had not made much 
progress ampng the people, and it is scarcely likely that condi- 
tions were as good in Quebec. One cannot read the history of 
early French Canada, however, without realizing that the church 
did not neglect education. 

In 1635 Father Lejeune wrote to Cardinal Richelieu from 
Quebec in these words: " Families are beginning to multiply and 
they are already pressing us to open a school , . . what 
a blessing it would be if next year we should be writing that 
here in New France, we are conducting classes in three or four 
languages."^ 

A school for little children was really opened in 1635 under the 
direction of the Jesuits. Here they gave elementary instruction 
to the children of the French and Indian populations. 

In 1651 a new school was opened and conducted by a lay teacher, 
Martin Boutet. During the whole period of French occupation 
the Jesuits maintained in Quebec a school for children. In 1666 
when the whole white population of Canada was only 3,215 
souls, the Jesuits had twenty resident pupils in their school and 
the Ursuline nuns twenty-one and each had a larger number of 
day students. 

As the population grew, other schools were founded, all under 
the direction of the church. It is not the purpose here to write 
a history of education in the province. Moreover, the conquest 
broke sharply into the normal development of the old system, and 
the present system is not a natural growth from the old regime. 
There are a few special schools of the day, however, that may 
well be mentioned. 

In 1690 there was a school at St. Joachim where there were 
forty boarders whose expenses were paid by their parents, at the 

^ Abbe A. E. Gosselin, "Education in Canada," in Canada and Its Provinces, 
Vol. XVI. 



8 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

rate of three llvres and one bushel of salt each per month. In 
1693 Bishop Laval provided six scholarships for this school on 
the following conditions: The children were to belong to the 
country, to be of good morals, and adapted to manual labor. 
They were to be chosen by the directors of the seminary and to 
be fed, maintained, and instructed in good morals, in piety, in 
reading, and in writing, or trained to farm work or the industries 
carried on in the place, until they had reached the age of eighteen 
when they were supposed to be capable of earning their living. 
The scholarships amounted to some two thousand livres for each 
student for the whole period they were at the school. 

It is interesting to note that in 1701 Abbe Soumande, director 
of the school at St. Joachim, gave eight thousand livres, in addi- 
tion to ten thousand already given by him, in order to enable 
the seminary to carry on the instruction of certain pupils as far 
as the beginning of the humanities in order that they might be 
qualified to become school teachers. 

This is the first normal training course provided in Canada. 
In those days the expense was borne entirely by the church or 
some of its generous officers. In 1704 the schoolhouse at Beaupre 
needed repair. Instead of calling on the church to do the work, 
the colonists themselves made a collection over all the nearby 
country and put the building in shape. 

In 1673, writing of the school at St. Foye, Father Dablon said: 
"This year, our Hurons, having seen in the school for French 
children that those who misbehaved were chastised, came to the 
conclusion that in order to train their own children properly, it 
was necessary to chastise them for their faults . . , This 
is why the chief has the habit of now and again going around the 
village shouting at the top of his voice for the fathers and mothers 
to make known the faults of their children, that the boys may be 
whipped by the French schoolmaster and the girls by a good 
matron."^ 

In 1692 Jean Frangois Charon, a man of considerable means, 
born at Quebec, founded a sort of school and hospital in Montreal. 
By the King's charter it was to be "a refuge for orphan children, 
the maimed, and the old; the said children to be put to work 
at different trades and to receive as good an education as 
possible." 

^ "Education in Canada," in Canada and Its Provinces, Vol. XVI. 



Historical Outline 9 

This school grew apace and Charon opened up a normal train- 
ing department and a normal school. In 1707 Raudot, the in- 
tendant, wrote: "Owing to the lack of schoolmasters, children 
are badly brought up. They ought to be corrected while they 
are still susceptible to discipline and for that purpose we require 
schoolmasters in all the settlements . . . Brother Charon is 
already trying to train teachers, but his community has not the 
necessary funds and ought to receive assistance. If the King 
would add two thousand livres to what he already allows, the 
Brothers could train teachers which would be a great benefit to 
the Colony." 

Charon and his brother brought no less than twenty-four 
teachers to Canada from France, in addition to those they trained 
in their own school. Girls' schools were established as early as 
those for boys and in even greater numbers. 

As for higher education, in 1637 the Jesuits established a Latin 
School in Quebec. The course of instruction was the same as 
that given in Jesuit colleges in France and Europe generally. 
They were supported by the Jesuit order and grants from the 
King. In 1759, after a continuous existence of more than one 
hundred and twenty-five years, the college at Quebec began to go 
down. After the conquest no new priests or teachers were 
allowed to come to Canada. The school gradually went down 
until the complete suppression of the Jesuits by the edict of the 
Pope and the confiscation of their lands by the State. 

During this early period schools were fairly general in Canada. 
They were supported by private gifts, by the church and religious 
orders, by grants from the government of old France and by 
fees and collections from among the people themselves. 

The British Occupation. When the conquest came in 1759, a 
great change came to Quebec. After the treaty of Paris in 1763, 
the men of wealth, the aristocracy, the army, many of the priests 
and teachers who were born in old France, left Canada forever.^ 
Nor were French priests and teachers allowed to come from old 
France to Canada for a good many years. While this provision 
was a wise one from the point of view of expediency, it made things 
that much harder for Quebec. From that time on, the people 



^ Abbe Adelard Desrosiers, "French Education in Quebec," in Canada and 
Its Provinces, Vol. XVI. 



10 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

had to look to the ordinary priest, born and trained among them- 
selves, for leadership. Their new rulers were of different religion, 
language, and national ideals, and naturally could not under- 
stand, appreciate, nor intelligently direct their French subjects. 
The large properties of the religious orders were in part confis- 
cated and the colonists were, with one blow, left without their 
educational leaders and means of supporting their institutions. 
In 1777 the Jesuit order was suppressed by the Pope and a good 
part of the revenue of their property was used to support Protes- 
tant schools. 

In 1787, Lord Dorchester, who was then governor, called 
together a commission of inquiry to study the question of edu- 
cation. This commission was made up of five Englishmen and 
four Frenchmen. Considerable proof was accumulated as to 
the lack of education in the colony and the commission recom- 
mended the establishing of a great university that should have 
supervision over an educational system that would include every 
grade of study. The report recommended also: 

(i) The erection at once of parish or village schools throughout 
the province which should teach reading, writing, and ciphering. 

(2) The establishing in the central town of each district of a 
free school in which arithmetic, language, grammar, book-keeping, 
gauging, navigation, surveying, and the practical branches of 
mathematics should be taught. The free schools were to be sup- 
ported in part by rating the parishes on an assessment basis. 

The commission was two and a half years preparing the report 
and it was presented as unanimous. The Roman Catholic coad- 
jutor bishop of Quebec was in favor of it, and it seemed as if, 
rapid progress might be made. Nothing was done. The French 
population was naturally suspicious and perhaps not ready for 
such progressive legislation. The heads of the church were 
generally of the opinion that it was a scheme to put a Protestant 
and English university at the head of their educational system. 

While the few English families at this time in the province 
were not really scheming to coerce the French, it was probably 
their opinion that the French would gradually learn English 
and forget their native language, and this view on the part of 
the English, and the feeling of suspicion it engendered in the 
French, did much to delay the establishment of any comprehen- 
sive system of education. In the meantime, several exiled priests 



Historical Outline II 

arrived in Canada from France and did something to advance 
education among the French. 

The Royal Institution of Learning. In 1793 there came to 
Quebec Dr. Jacob Mountain, the first bishop of the EngHsh 
Church appointed for Quebec. He urged strongly upon the 
English government that something be done to solve the educa- 
tional problem. The French were suspicious of him and believed 
that his whole aim was to put a committee of the Anglican 
Church over their schools and gradually undermine the authority 
of the Catholic Church. The English government was impressed 
by Dr. Mountain's letters and in 1801 the Governor of Quebec 
spoke as follows to the House of Assembly: "With great satis- 
faction I have to inform you that His Majesty from His paternal 
regard for the welfare and prosperity of His subjects in this 
colony, has been graciously pleased to give directions for the 
establishing of a competent number of free schools, for the instruc- 
tion of their children in the first rudiments of useful learning and 
in the English tongue and also, as occasion may require, for 
foundations of a more enlarged and comprehensive nature and 
His Majesty has been further pleased to signify his royal intention 
that a suitable proportion of the lands of the crown should be set 
apart and the revenue thereof applied to such purposes."^ 

During the session of the Quebec legislature following an act 
was passed founding "The Royal Institution for the Advance- 
ment of Learning." This was the first act dealing with education 
ever passed by the legislature of the province. 

The law was very complicated and did not come up to the 
expectations of those interested. In 1803 the executive council 
set aside sixteen townships for the purpose of aiding education 
and the King sanctioned a gift of 20,000 acres each to the Royal 
Grammar Schools to be established in Quebec and Montreal. 
These gifts were and remained on paper. 

In 1 8 18 the Royal Institution was organized for business. Of 
the eighteen trustees named by the Crown, fourteen were English 
Protestants, three, officials in Upper Canada. The Anglican 
bishop was president and the secretary was a strong Anglican 
who was preparing for the ministry of the church. Almost all the 
teachers were brought from England and knew nothing of the 
French language. Such men as these were not well fitted to 

1 Laws of Lower Canada, compiled in 1830, Vol. XI. 



12 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

establish schools in Quebec where the people were French and 
Catholic. 

In 1822 there were thirty-one schoolmasters under the direction 
of the society, of whom twenty -three were English. In 1838 
there were thirty-seven schools in operation. Only eighty-seven 
schools were conducted by the society altogether and nearly all 
had disappeared by 1841. 

More Practical Legislation. The next piece of legislation was 
in 1824. This was much more practical and was satisfactory to 
the majority. Before giving any of its provisions, it will be 
worth while to call attention to an old custom of the French 
people. They had been accustomed to paying tithes for the sup- 
port of the church and in the twenty-seventh section of the terms 
of capitulation of 1759 is the following request: "The people 
shall be obliged by the English Government to pay their priests 
the tithes and all the taxes they were used to paying under the 
Government of His Most Christian Majesty." 

This privilege was not immediately granted, but was held over 
to receive the English King's sanction. This is made clear by an 
act (34 George III, 1791), which states: "Whenever it shall 
become expedient to form parishes and build or repair churches, the 
same course shall be pursued as was requisite before the conquest," 
viz., "to make repartition and assessments on each inhabitant 
who owned land."^ It will thus be seen that in the province of 
Quebec the principle of taxation was well understood and the 
machinery for collecting taxes ready to hand at an early date. 

Before the Act of 1824 was passed, the local church guilds 
or fabriques, as they were called, had frequently established 
schools in their own parishes. In 1824 the historian, Bibaud, 
stated that there were few parishes of any size in which there was 
not a school on a more or less satisfactory footing. Among the 
French, the congregation of Notre Dame had seventy-two 
teachers; the Ursulines of Quebec, forty-three; of Three Rivers, 
twenty-six. The Educational Society in Quebec had a school 
attended by two hundred and fifty children, run on the Lan- 
casterian system. There were thirteen rural convents and there 
were fabrique schools in forty-eight parishes. 

Bearing this in mind, one sees the absurdity of the attempt to 
establish in French parishes the Schools of Royal Foundation. 

^ Laws of Lower Canada, Vol. XI. 



Historical Outline 13 

The only way to do was to move on in harmony with principles 
already established and, while utilizing existing machinery, intro- 
duce more system and better methods. 

The law of 1824 states in the preamble: "Whereas the insti- 
tution of elementary schools in the several parishes of this Prov- 
ince, in diffusing the principles of a good moral education, will 
contribute to the promotion of Industry and Agriculture and, 
whereas it is necessary to provide means for facilitating their 
establishment, therefore be it resolved, etc. . . . "^ 

It was provided that each vestry board, or fabrique, in the 
province should be given authority to acquire land, money, and 
other property for the purpose of founding and supporting one or 
more elementary schools in the parish. They were authorized to 
provide first one school in each parish. If there were two hundred 
families in the parish, they might establish a second school and so 
on in the proportion of one school for every hundred families. 
In order to establish and maintain the schools, every fabrique 
was entitled to apply out of its annual income a sum of money 
not exceeding in any case one fourth of the actual income of the 
fabrique. 

Each fabrique had to render annually an account in writing on 
the third Sunday after Easter, at a meeting of the resident land- 
owners in the parish, stating the income and expenditure of the 
schools for the twelve preceding months, the number of pupils, and 
the name of the schoolmaster. 

As the funds in the hands of the fabrique had been raised by 
taxation on the landowners of the parish, there is here a provi- 
sion for the support of schools entirely by local taxation. The 
funds had been first raised for church support and, as one fourth 
of the whole amount raised could go for school purposes, the 
framers of this act had some idea of the importance of education. 
These fabrique schools were, of course, in every sense church 
schools. Later on legislation was made permitting them to join 
with other schools afterwards established in the parish. 

By 1829 there were sixty-three of these schools regularly estab- 
lished. 

Substantial Government Grants. In 1829 an act was passed 
making for the first time provision for legislative grants to schools 
throughout the province. This act provided as follows: 

^ Laws of Lower Canada, Vol. XI. 



14 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

It shall and may be lawful for the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or 
person administering the government, to advance by warrant or warrants 
under his hand the following sums in the course of the present year, from 
and out of the unappropriated moneys in the hands of the Receiver 
General for the purposes herein mentioned: 

For the Society of Education for the District of Quebec, the sum of two 
hundred pounds Sterling to assist the said society in promoting and 
extending education in this Province. 

Three hundred pounds Sterling to assist the same society in building a 
central schoolhouse for the district of Quebec, which said sum shall be 
paid to the president of the aforesaid institution in such payments as shall 
be deemed necessary. ^ 

The person or persons having direction of the schools were 
required to report on the state of the schools and to render an 
account of the money granted to the three branches of the pro- 
vincial parliament, within the first fifteen days of the next session. 

Later in the same year grants were made as follows: "Not 
exceeding one hundred and fifty pounds to the British and 
Canadian School Society of Quebec. Not exceeding three 
hundred pounds, to the British and Canadian School Society of 
Montreal to assist the same in building a schoolhouse at Mont- 
real. A sum not exceeding two hundred pounds as an aid to the 
National and Free School at Montreal." 

By an act passed March 14, 1829, further legislative grants 
were made to these schools and others. I give the list below, 
as it shows how rapidly schools were being formed under the 
stimulus of generous government grants : 

"An Act for the encouragement of Elementary Education, etc."^ 

The Lieutenant-Governor was authorized to pay out of any unappro- 
priated moneys: 

(i) A sum not exceeding three hundred pounds for the support of the 
Montreal British and Foreign School. 

(2) A sum not exceeding two hundred pounds for the Montreal National 
Free School. 

(3) A sum not exceeding four hundred pounds toward enabling the 
trustees of the Quebec British and Canadian School to build a school- 
house. 

(4) A sum not exceeding four hundred pounds toward enabling the 
trustees of the Chapel of St. Andrews to build a school on the grounds of 
their chapel. 

^ Laws of Lower Canada, Vol. X.II. 
2 Ibid. 



Historical Outline 15 

(5) A sum not exceeding five hundred pounds to the founder of the 
College of St. Hyacinthe toward enabling him to maintain that establish- 
ment. 

(6) A sum not exceeding five hundred pounds toward the building of 
a schoolhouse in the Borough of Three Rivers, as soon as three trustees 
shall have been appointed at a meeting of the freeholders of said Bor- 
ough holden for that purpose. 

(7) A sum not exceeding four hundred and eighty-three pounds, ten 
shillings toward enabling the Quebec Society of Education to discharge 
the debts it has created and toward maintaining their schoolhouse during 
the present year. 

(8) A sum not exceeding two hundred pounds toward enabling the said 
Quebec Society of Education to erect a schoolhouse at Quebec, over and 
above the sum heretofore granted for that purpose. 

(9) A sum not exceeding one hundred and fifty pounds for the support 
of British and Canadian School at Quebec for this year. 

(10) A sum not exceeding fifty pounds towards enabling the Auxiliary 
Society of the Ladies of Quebec, to maintain their school for the instruction 
of indigent young females. 

(11) A sum not exceeding one hundred pounds for the support of the 
Quebec National School for the present year. 

(12) A sum not exceeding two thousand pounds for the support of 
schools established under the control of the Royal Institution during the 
present year. 

(13) A sum not exceeding three hundred pounds to the Secretary of 
the Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning for the whole of 
the arrears of his salary and for his salary for the present year at the rate 
of one hundred pounds per annum. 

Here follows a general section which provides, for the first 
time, for personal grants to teachers: 

It shall be lawful for the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or other per- 
sons administering the Government, to grant to any master or mistress 
in any school in the country parishes, not under the direction and manage- 
ment of the Royal Institute and having under tuition not less than twenty 
pupils, the sum of twenty pounds per annum during three years. 

Provision was also made for the payment to the teacher of 
ten shillings a head annually for poor children that had been 
instructed gratis. In one school there was not to be less than 
twenty nor more than fifty. 

On March 26, 1830, the act of the previous year was amended 
to allow clergymen of any denomination to be trustees, even 
though not freeholders, and requiring that every teacher hold half 



1 6 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

yearly public examinations, of which notice was to be posted at 
least one week in advance, on the church door. 
The following clause is of interest : ■ 

A sum not exceeding two hundred pounds toward enabling Joseph Lan- 
caster to make experiments in the methods of instruction invented by him. 
A sum not exceeding one hundred pounds to enable Joseph Frangois 
Perrault to defray the expenses of his school and diffuse instruction in the 
mode explained in his manual and a similar sum toward enabling him to 
print elementary text books. 

On February 25, 1832, another act was passed to appropriate 
money. Most of these grants were but the renewal of those 
granted before. The list was yearly growing longer, however, 
and some new features were introduced. Several grants were 
made to aid in paying for country schoolhouses ; one of twenty- 
one pounds, thirteen shillings, two pence to the trustees of the 
elementary schools in the parish of Beauport, to pay one-half of 
the cost of a school erected by them at Lake Beauport. 

On that same date, it was enacted that all moneys arising out 
of the estates of the late Order of Jesuits should be placed in a 
separate chest, in the vaults wherein the public moneys of the 
province were kept, and should be exclusively applied to the pur- 
pose of education. 

An Early Attempt to Establish a Normal School, 1836. An act to 
provide for the establishment of normal schools: "Whereas in 
the parishes, seignories and townships of this province in which 
the number of schools hath become much larger than it was 
formerly, the want of able masters and teachers is deeply felt 
and in order that the liberal encouragement granted to public 
instruction by the legislature may not be unavailing, it has 
become urgently necessary to provide for the establishing of nor- 
mal schools, from which masters and teachers properly qualified 
may be procured.^ 

The effect of the large government grants to schools was 
beyond what anyone would have guessed. In 1829 there were 
14,700 pupils in attendance. In 1835, 37,000 and in 1845, 60,000. 

These were strenuous times politically. The Legislative Coun- 
cil and Assembly were in open conflict and the days of the rebel- 
lion were not far off. In 1836 the Legislative Council refused 

^ Laws of Lower Canada, 6 William IV, Chap. 12. 



Historical Outline 17 

to sanction the grant for education and all over the province the 
schools were forced to depend on local support, or close. 

The very year that the legislature, by its refusal to act, closed 
the doors of numbers of primary schools, it passed the act 
referred to, appropriating funds for normal schools to train 
primary teachers. As these normal schools were to have been 
non-sectarian and open to both French and English, the French 
refused to have anything to do with them and the schools were a 
failure. 

The Montreal Normal School was opened in 1837 and granted 
diplomas to thirty teachers during the following five years. In 
1842 the law establishing the normal schools was repealed. 

This was the last attempt by the legislature to bring the two 
races together in school life. For three-quarters of a century 
many of the English leaders of the province and a few of the 
French had been working to establish a unified system of schools. 
With the establishment of responsible government, the English 
minority lost any power they had beyond what their members 
in the legislature warranted. By the Union of 1841, it was 
thought something might be done, but so far as education was 
concerned, this act proved a dead letter. 

Various Classes of Schools in Lower Canada at the Time of the 
Union. There were now in the province several groups of schools : 

(i) The fabrique schools built and managed by the vestry 
boards or wardens of the Roman Catholic Church, receiving 
government grants to assist in building, and tithing the land- 
owners of the parish for their support. 

(2) The schools under the direction of the Royal Institution, 
assisted somewhat by legislative grants and able to tithe the 
people of the parish through the church wardens. 

(3) Common or public schools established by the people under 
the chairmanship of the chief military officer. Legislative grants 
came to these schools through the teachers — so much for each 
teacher and so much for each pupil. 

(4) A number of schools under the direction of various benevo- 
lent, charitable, and educational societies, all or nearly all of 
which were in receipt of government grants. 

(5) Church schools, schools managed by nuns, by priests, by 
lay brothers, many of which received government grants. 



1 8 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

(6) Special schools, like that of Joseph Lancaster and Joseph 
Frangois Perrault, where pupils were prepared to teach and 
to which liberal sums were granted by the legislature. 

(7) A number of county academies; such as those at Cham- 
bly, Hatley, Sherbrooke, Stanstead, Three Rivers and St. Hya- 
cinthe, all of which received substantial government grants. 
Most, if not all, of these schools charged tuition fees when not 
prevented from doing so by legislative enactment. 

The Union of Upper and Lower Canada and the New Educa- 
tional Act. We have now reached a decisive year in the history 
of education in both Lower and Upper Canada. In 1841, these 
two provinces, which had been separate since the Constitutional 
Act of 179 1 , were united and made into one province by act of the 
Imperial Parliament. There was at this time a great interest 
awakened in education. Otherwise no such grants would have 
been made as have just been considered. One of the first acts 
of the United Parliament was to have prepared an elaborate 
education bill. This bill is said to have been based mainly on 
educational theories set forth in a report on Common School 
Education laid before the Assembly of Upper Canada in 1836, by 
Dr. Charles Duncombe, and on a series of letters on education 
written by a French Canadian of Montreal, named Charles 
Mondelet.^ 

The bill was framed by Solicitor General Day, assisted by 
the Honourable Christopher Dunkin who had a hand in pre- 
paring that part of Lord Durham's report dealing with education 
in Lower Canada. The new bill was well threshed over in the 
House. Anglican and Roman Catholic were afraid some section 
would interfere with their religious rights and watched every 
move. Finally it was made a law; with what results will be seen 
later. Perhaps the outstanding feature, from the point of view 
of this study, was the setting aside of 50,000 pounds currency 
($200,000), for Common School Education. The grant was 
made thus large through the influence of Mr. Isaac Buchanan, 
then member for Toronto. 

It is well to remember that the long struggle for responsible 
government in the two Canadas was over. The rebellion of 
1837-38 had ended in Lord Durham's report and the handing 

^ Hodgins, J. George, Documentary History of Education in Upper Canada, 
Vol. I. 



Historical Outline 19 

over to the Assembly, the lawfully elected representatives of the 
people, the undisputed control of public moneys. May they not 
have felt a freedom in the newly granted power that led them to 
vote a more than generous sum for popular education? 

The chief features of the law, in so far as this study is con- 
cerned, are as follows:^ 

The creating of a permanent school fund, for the establishment, 
maintenance and support of public schools in every township and 
parish in the province. The fund was to be made up from the 
sale and lease of lands, set aside, or to be set aside for that purpose 
and from a government grant. 

The 50,000 pounds to be set aside each year was to include the 
interest from the above fund and the balance was to be paid 
from provincial funds. This was to be called the "Common 
School Fund," 

The Governor was to appoint from time to time a fit and proper 
person to be Superintendent of Education. He was not to receive 
a salary of more than seven hundred and fifty pounds annually. 
Among his duties were the following : 

(i) To apportion the annual legislative grant among the several 
municipal districts, in the ratio of the number of children over 
five and under sixteen, as by the then last census were resident 
within such district. 

(2) To notify the treasurer of each district of the amount 
apportioned to them out of the legislative grant that he might 
raise an equal sum in his own district over and above all sums 
raised for other purposes. 

(3) To visit annually each of the municipal districts in the 
province and ascertain the state of the common schools. 

Section XI makes provision for separate schools, in the fol- 
lowing words: "When any number of the inhabitants of the 
township professing a religious faith different from that of the 
majority shall dissent from the regulations, it shall be lawful for 
the inhabitants so dissenting, collectively to signify such dissent 
in writing to the clerk of the district council, with the names of 
one or more persons elected by them as their trustee, or trustees, 
for the purpose of this Act." Provision was then made for them 
to form a school and receive a proportion of the money paid by 
the district treasurer, according to their numbers. 

1 Statutes of the United Canadas, 1841, Chap. XVIII. 



20 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

No common school was entitled to any apportionment of 
money out of the Common School Fund, except on the following 
terms : 

(i) That it had been open at least nine months. 

(2) That it had been regularly attended by at least fifteen 
children from five to sixteen. 

(3) That the sum paid by the inhabitants was at least equal 
to that apportioned out of the fund. 

Why the Act Failed. This law of 1841 was really the foun- 
dation of the present system and was an almost inconceivable 
advance on legislation that had preceded. At first glance, 
one would think the large grants from the province would have 
given it assured success. It proved unpopular and unworkable. 
Nevertheless it was the Magna Charta of Quebec education, and 
after the test of use had revealed its weak points changes were 
made and a satisfactory statute enacted. 

At that time the members of the municipal councils were not 
elected by the people as now, but appointed by the government 
in power. They were often political appointees and not directly 
interested in schools. As the taxing power lay with them, they 
really controlled the schools. While given large powers, no uni- 
form system was laid down for their guidance, and it was go-as- 
you-please with them. 

The people were not ready to substitute a tax for the old 
system of fees and voluntary contributions, especially in Protes- 
tant townships. Many of the townships were not divided into 
school districts and the division could not proceed rapidly. The 
last census had been taken in Upper Canada in 1841, in Lower 
Canada in 1831, and the 50,000 pounds could not be divided as 
the law directed without being unfair to Lower Canada. 

No provision was made for the union of townships, yet in the 
then unsettled condition of the country, good schools could not 
be maintained within township lines. As a result, little of the 
money was apportioned and, as the old system was no longer in 
force, things were at a standstill. Such was the state of things 
when the third session of the parliament of United Canada met 
on September 28, 1843. 

A good part of the time of the session was spent in discussion of 
educational matters. Strong objections were made to the act 
because it seemed to be based on United States principles. 



Historical Outline 21 

Honourable Francis Hincks replied to this, that the principles of 
the act were the same as those of the measure that was carried 
out in Prussia and that it was rather singular that a despotic, as 
well as a republican government, should have united in the same 
plan for the purpose of general education.^ 

From the point of view of this paper, some of the remarks by 
the Hon. F. Hincks about taxation and school support generally 
are of interest. He claimed that the government grant was to 
induce parents to send their children to school, which otherwise 
they would not do. In New York a similar bill had been in 
operation for years. Taking the State grant there, it amounted 
to only eleven pence for each scholar per annum. There was 
also a local tax of two shillings per scholar and the parents had to 
pay ten shillings per pupil. ... It would not be right that 
all the expense should fall upon the parents. The property of 
the country ought to bear its portion of the burden. It was 
necessary to interest the public in this measure and the only way 
to do so, was to make them pay for it. 

"Those who found fault with the school tax, which it imposed 
upon property, ought to recollect that it was a tax upon the rich, 
who could afford it, for the benefit of the poor; and yet the poor 
man paid his proportion also. But who, after all, is the most 
benefited by the education of the poor? Was it not the rich 
man whose position was enhanced by having an intelligent, 
orderly population about him? Unless the tax was made com- 
pulsory, those who had no children would not contribute." 
John P. Roblin, in strong terms, spoke against the principle of 
taxation, while yet others wanted the schools made entirely free. 2 

Looking at the question from our present-day standpoint, one 
must conclude that Hincks was right. The bill was fair enough, 
but the people were prejudiced against taxation and the jump 
was too great; the rank and file could not keep pace with their 
leaders. 

The Two Provinces Separate Their Educational Systems. To 
overcome the difficulty of the census, an act was passed in 1842 
allowing 30,000 pounds to Lower Canada and 20,000 to Upper 
Canada. It had been pretty well shown that the two groups, 

^Documentary History, Vol. I. 
2 Ibid. 



22 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

differing as they did in religion, race, and language, however well 
they might work together in more material things, could not 
agree as to an educational system. This was now recognized 
and provision made for an Assistant Superintendent of Educa- 
tion for Upper Canada and another for Lower Canada, each 
acting under the General Superintendent of the united provinces. 
The first to fill the office in Lower Canada was Dr. Jean Baptiste 
Meilleur, a most earnest advocate of educational reform. 

The Act of 1843 not only provided for the division of the 50,000 
pounds as stated, but further developed the idea of Dissentient 
Schools. In Section XXVI it was enacted that when in any com- 
munity the regulations and arrangements made by the school 
commissioners for the conduct of any school were not agreeable 
to any number whatever of the inhabitants, professing a religious 
faith different from the majority, these dissentients might signify 
their dissent in writing and hand in to the chairman of the com- 
missioners the names of three trustees chosen by them for the 
purposes of this act. This new board would then have control 
over schools it might establish under this act. 

Comprehensive Legislation. In 1845 another act was passed, 
but as the next year a most comprehensive act was passed, the 
earlier of the two may be passed over — "An Act to repeal certain 
enactments therein mentioned and to make better provision for 
Elementary Instruction in Lower Canada."^ This act provided 
for a meeting of all the landowners and householders of each 
municipality to be held on the first Monday in June. If this was 
the first meeting of this kind to be held in the municipality, it was 
to be called by the seignor, or any resident justice of the peace. 
Five school commissioners were to be elected at this meeting, 
none of whom was to be a teacher of any school in his municipality. 
These commissioners were to divide the municipalities into 
districts, where it had not already been done. Not more than 
one district in each municipality was to contain less than twenty 
children between the ages of five and sixteen. 

These officers were also to hold and care for all school property, 
appoint and engage teachers, regulate the course of study, and 
hear and decide disputes. They were to levy by assessment, 
in each municipality, a sum equal to the legislative grant to their 

1 9 Victoria, Chap. XXVII. 



Historical Outline 23 

municipality. Out of school funds they might allow a sum not 
exceeding twenty pounds Sterling yearly for the support of any 
Superior School or Model School, at the most thickly settled 
place of the municipality. 

They had also to fix the monthly fees of each child, not to ex- 
ceed two shillings, nor to be less than three pence per month. 
These fees were to be collected for only eight months, even 
though the school was open longer. In the case of model schools 
a higher rate might be collected and for the actual months the 
school was open. They might exempt wholly, or in part, indigent 
persons, lunatics, or idiots. 

The regulations in regard to dissentient schools were practi- 
cally the same as given already in the Act of 1843. Dissentient 
schools were to be under the control of three trustees and would 
be governed by the same rules as those laid down for the commis- 
sioners. Any school, whether under commissioners or trustees, 
would be entitled to its allowance of the local school fund and 
the general fund, if it had been open at least eight months and 
attended by at least fifteen children, if the returns had been 
certified to, if a public examination of the school had taken place 
and if a report, signed by a majority of the trustees and the 
master, had been sent to the Superintendent of Schools and, 
finally, if a sum equal to the legislative grant to the municipality 
had been raised in the municipality. 

It was enacted also that any fabrique could unite with a 
common school and if the fabrique contributed not less than 
twelve and a half pounds Sterling toward the support of the 
united school, they would have the right of appointing the cure 
and churchwarden as commissioners. 

In Quebec and Montreal the corporation was to appoint twelve 
commissioners, six Roman Catholic and six Protestant, and they 
would form two separate corporations. In these cities no special 
rate was to be levied for schools, but the city treasurer was to 
pay over to each corporation, in proportion to the population of 
each religious persuasion, the sums required by the act. 

As Quebec and Montreal already possessed private educa- 
tional institutions which did not and could not exist in rural 
parts, it was provided that Montreal receive one fourth and 
Quebec one third of the sums from the provincial grant that they 
would otherwise have received. 



24 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

The act provided for the appointment of examiners who should 
make regulations for the examination of teachers, dividing the 
same into three classes. School commissioners were to be able 
to examine teachers for ten years longer, but after the first Mon- 
day in July, 1856, teachers had to have certificates from the 
regular board of examiners. 

It must not be supposed that the principle of compulsory 
taxation for school support could be made popular, or even pos- 
sible, by an act of the legislature. Many municipalities did 
not appoint school boards at all, and although the law provided 
means to compel action, laws are not readily enforced against the 
will of the people in a democratic country. To take away the 
semblance of compulsion, another act was passed on May 30, 
1849. 

By this act the ratepayers, or any other of the inhabitants, 
could, if they wished, get together, make up an amount equal to 
the legislative grant for that year and hand it to the secretary- 
treasurer. If this were done in July and properly attested, no 
assessment would be levied that year. 

When school commissioners of indigent municipalities had 
carried out the provisions of the law in good faith and had failed 
to secure the amount required, the Superintendent of Schools 
was given the power to make the grant, just as if they had 
secured the full amount. 

Clergymen of all denominations, even though not ratepayers, 
were declared eligible to be commissioners. 

Three Normal Schools Are Established. Up to that time there 
were no public normal schools in Lower Canada. How the 
attempt to form a school for the training in one school of 
both French and English teachers had failed, has already been 
told. At this time, those desiring to teach were given rather 
superficial examinations by the local examining board created 
by the law of 1846. This could not long satisfy changing con- 
ditions and on August 30, 1851, an act entitled as follows was 
passed: "An Act to provide for the establishment of a Normal 
School and further to promote Education in Lower Canada": 

Preamble. Whereas the number of Common Schools in Lower Canada 
hath of late years greatly increased and the want of able masters and 
teachers for the same is deeply felt and it has become necessary, in order 



Historical Outline 2$ 

that the liberal encouragement granted by the Legislature for public 
instruction may not be unavailing, to establish a Normal School in Lower 
Canada, be it therefore enacted . . . and it is hereby enacted that 
it shall be lawful for the Governor of this Province to adopt all needful 
measures for the establishment of a Normal School, containing one or 
more Model Schools, for the instruction and training of teachers of Com- 
mon Schools in the Science of Education and Art of Teaching. 

There was to be allowed out of the unexpended balance of the 
Common School Fund, or if that was not sufficient, in whole or in 
part, out of the Jesuits' Estates Fund, a sum not exceeding one 
thousand five hundred pounds for payment of salaries and run- 
ning expenses and a sum not exceeding two hundred pounds to 
help pay the expenses of teachers in training. 

There was also provision made for one or more school inspectors 
to be appointed by the Governor, who were to visit all schools and 
make full reports to the Superintendent at least once in three 
months. Each inspector was to be ex officio a justice of the 
peace for his district, and his salary, which was not to exceed 
three hundred pounds annually, was to be paid out of the funds 
provided for normal schools. 

These normal schools were ready for work in 1857. At that 
time two French normal schools and one English normal school 
were established. The legislature generously divided the money 
available for their support into three equal parts and thus allowed 
to the Protestant school a much larger proportion of the fund 
than was due on a basis of population. ^ This continued for 
almost fifty years. 

The first principal of the Protestant school established in 
Montreal, in 1857, was John W. Dawson, afterward Sir William, 
and with him were associated William H. Hincks and Sampson P. 
Robins. Dr. Robins was on the staff for the whole fifty years of 
its existence. In 1907 the work of training Protestant teachers 
was taken over by Macdonald College. 

On March 14, 1907, an act was passed, entitled "An Act 
respecting the McGill Normal School and to modify and confirm 
an agreement between His Majesty the King, in right of the 
Province of Quebec and the Royal Institution for the Advance- 
ment of Learning and for other purposes." 



^ Dr. Geo. W. Parmelee, in Canada and Its Provinces, Vol. XVL 



26 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

For many years the McGill Normal School had been training 
Protestant teachers under the direction of the Protestant Com- 
mittee. It had received an annual provincial grant of about 
$16,000, of which about $13,000 was taken from the appropria- 
tion for normal schools and $3,000 from the grants to elementary 
schools. 

In the meantime, with funds so generously supplied by Sir 
William Macdonald, the great educational institution known as 
Macdonald College had been built and equipped at Ste. Anne de 
Bellevue. This act provided that from then on, Protestant 
teachers would be trained in the School for Teachers established 
at Macdonald College and that the McGill Normal School would 
be discontinued. The annual grant which had gone toward the 
support of the McGill Normal School was still to be continued, 
but used in some other way for the support of Protestant educa- 
tion in Quebec. 

The contract was made between the King, represented by the 
Minister of Public Works of the Province, and the Trustees of 
the Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning. This 
institution, which was founded in 1802, has long been superseded 
in the field of elementary education, but it is yet a great educa- 
tional force in Quebec and in Canada generally through its great 
schools, McGill University, Macdonald College, and other 
affiliated institutions. 

Jesuits' Estates Settlement and Other Funds. Reference has 
already been made at different times to the Jesuits' Estates Fund. 
By an act passed in 1853, unexpended balances of that fund and 
the Lower Canada School Fund were appropriated as follows : 

(i) As an aid toward building or finishing schoolhouses, 300 
pounds. 

(2) As an aid toward parish and township libraries, 500 pounds. 

(3) Handed over to the legislature from which it might make 
special appropriations, 5,000 pounds. 

(4) Toward the establishment and maintenance of normal 
schools, 4,000 pounds. 

(5) To be lent to the normal schools to be established in Mon- 
treal, 5,000 pounds, interest at five per cent to be paid into the 
Jesuits' Estates Fund by the Common School Fund. 

By the same act a very necessary correction was made in the 
Act of 1846. No mention had been made of women teachers and 



Historical Outline 27 

the pronoun "he" was always used when speaking of teachers. 
A number of commissioners ruled that no government grant could 
be paid to women teachers. Section LV of this act enacts that 
"he," as used in the law, may mean "they," or "she," unless 
there be something in the context "inconsistent or repugnant to 
such construction." 

Up to this time only one regular school fund has been mentioned, 
the Common School Fund of 1841, of 50,000 pounds, annually 
paid out of provincial revenues. By an act of June, 1856, two 
new funds were created: 

(i) The estates and property of the late Order of Jesuits were 
to form the Lower Canada Superior Education Investment 
Fund. 

(2) The Lower Canada Superior Education Income Fund which 
was to consist of the following: 

(a) The revenues and interest arising from the Investment 
Fund named above. 

(b) The unexpended and unclaimed yearly balances of the 
Common School Fund for Lower Canada. 

(c) Appropriations from Consolidated Revenue Fund of the 
province. 

Twenty thousand dollars should be annually added to this out 
of the revenue of the province. If it should drop below eighty 
thousand dollars, enough was to be taken out of the Common 
School Fund of Lower Canada to make it up to eighty thousand 
dollars. 

The above was to be apportioned among universities, colleges, 
seminaries, academies, high schools, model schools and schools 
other than ordinary elementary in such sums as the governor 
in council approved. Grants were to be for the year only and 
the governor in council might attach such conditions as he 
deemed advantageous. 

School commissioners and trustees during the month of 
September of each year were required to take a census of all 
children of school age, distinguishing those five to sixteen from 
those seven to fourteen and those actually attending school. 
This census was to be reported to the superintendent within ten 
days. 

The commissioners and trustees were to state in their semi- 
annual report to the superintendent the amount of the monthly 



28 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

fees charged each child and the sum actually collected either by 
them or by the teacher. 

In the same year an act was passed dealing with Elementary 
Education in Lower Canada. I shall give only the changes and 
additions to previous acts. 

After the first day of July, 1857, any female who wished to 
teach and who was not a member of a "religious seminary," 
would have to be examined by one of the regular Boards of 
Examiners. 

Out of the Legislative School Grant, the Superintendent of 
Schools was allowed to set apart the following sums: 

(i) Not exceeding one thousand pounds for special aid to 
Common Schools in poor municipalities. 

(2) Not exceeding four hundred and fifty pounds to encourage 
the publication and circulation of a Journal of Public Instruction. 

(3) Not exceeding five hundred pounds towards forming a 
fund for the support of superannuated, or worn out Common 
School Teachers in Lower Canada. 

The superintendent could establish other boards of examiners 
for teachers and, in mixed communities, two boards — one French, 
the other English. 

In the case of a school municipality that had just debts that it 
could not pay, the superintendent might cause special assess- 
ments to be levied for their payment. 

A Council of Public Instruction. The Governor was given the 
authority to appoint not more than fifteen and not less than eleven 
persons, of whom the Superintendent of Schools for Lower 
Canada was to be one, to be a Council of Public Instruction 
for Lower Canada. They would hold their office during the 
pleasure of and be subject to orders from the governor in council. 
The Council of Public Instruction was first organized three years 
later, in 1859.^ 

Such are the main features of school legislation enacted before 
confederation. Schools were by no means free. In fact, school 
rates were compulsory, but government grants were liberal and 
the principle of taxation for school purposes was well established. 
The Catholics and Protestants had made provisions enabling 
them each to support and control their own schools. It will now 

^ Statutes of the Province of Canada, 22 Vic. Chap. LII, May 4, 1859. " Can- 
ada" refers to the united provinces of Upper and Lower Canada. 



Historical Outline 



29 



be seen how this principle was confirmed by the British North 
America Act. 

The Provinces Unite to Fortn a Greater Canada. The British 
North America Act passed by the Imperial ParHament on March 
29, 1867, united Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, under 
the name of the Dominion of Canada. 

Section XCIII of this act deals with Education and I give it 
in full: 

In and for each Province the Legislature may exclusively make Laws 
in relation to Education, subject and according to the following provisions: 

(i) Nothing in such Law shall prejudicially affect any Right or Privi- 
lege with respect to Denominational Schools, which any class of persons 
have by Law in the Provincial Union. 

(2) All the Powers, Privileges and Duties at the Union by Law con- 
ferred and imposed in Upper Canada, on the Separate Schools and School 
Trustees of the Queen's Roman Catholic Subjects, shall be and the same 
are hereby extended to the Dissentient Schools of the Queen's Protestant 
and Roman Catholic Subjects in Quebec. 

(3) When in any Province a system of Separate or Dissentient Schools 
exists by law at the Union, or is thereafter established by the Legislature 
of the Provinice, an appeal shall lie to the Governor General in Council, 
from any Act or Decision of any Provincial Authority affecting any Right 
or Privilege of the Protestant or Roman Catholic minority of the Queen's 
subjects in relation to Education. 

(4) In case any Provincial Law, as from time to time seems to the 
Governor General in Council, requisite for the due Execution of the Pro- 
visions of this Section is not made, or in case any Decision of the Governor 
in Council on any appeal under this Section is not duly executed by the 
proper Provincial Authorities in that Behalf, then, and in every such case, 
and as far only as the circumstances of each case require, the Parliament of 
Canada may make remedial Laws for the due Executions of the Provisions 
of this Section, and of any Decision of the Governor General in Council 
under this Section. 

This act of the Imperial Parliament continued to Quebec and 
Ontario their separate school sections. The Catholic minorities 
of both New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island laid claim to 
the same privilege, but as nothing in preconfederation legislation 
could be interpreted as establishing separate schools, their claim 
was not, and has not since, been allowed. 

In Manitoba the Catholics had such legislation before 1867 
and when their own legislature refused to give them separate 



30 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

schools, they appealed to the federal government for remedial 
legislation. This the conservative government was prepared to 
give, when it went out of office. 

Both Saskatchewan and Alberta make provision for separate 
schools. British Columbia and Nova Scotia do not. 

Two Committees of the Council of Public Instruction. In 1869 
an act was passed considerably in advance of former legislation. 
There had been difficulty in arranging a method by which the 
Council of Public Instruction could satisfy both the Catholic 
and Protestant elements in what was henceforth known as the 
Province of Quebec. By this law the council was divided into 
two committees, each to have considerable jurisdiction in the 
affairs of its own denomination. This is known as "the Com- 
promise of 32 Victoria," and it was the next logical step leading 
to the freedom in educational affairs enjoyed by the Protestant 
minority in the province. 

The new Council of Public Instruction was to consist of twenty- 
one members, fourteen Roman Catholic and seven Protestant. 
It could resolve into two committees, as stated, but the Minister 
or Superintendent of Education, was to be ex officio member of 
each, only voting, however, in the one of his own religious de- 
nomination. There were to be two deputy superintendents, 
one for each group of schools. This act did not go far enough, as 
final action was reserved to the United Council, and under it the 
Protestant committee did not make its influence felt in the schools 
of the province. 

Further legislation in 1875 and 1883 gave the Protestant com- 
mittee freedom in all matters relating strictly to Protestant 
education. The committee was fully organized in 1876, with the 
following members and associate members elected by themselves : 
James Williams, D.D., Bishop of Quebec, Charles D. Day, 
Christopher Dunkin, John Cook, D.D., George Irvine, Arch- 
deacon Leach, M.A., James Ferrier, Principal J. W. Dawson of 
McGill University. The associate members were: Judge San- 
born, R. W. Heneker, W. W. Lynch, Dr. Alexander Cameron, 
and Henry Fry. The Rev. George Weir, D.D., was secretary.^ 

Since that date this committee has done the same work as a 
separate board of education and has been hampered little, if any, 

^ Dr. Geo. W. Parmelee, in Canada and Its Provinces, Vol. XVI. 



Historical Outline 31 

by its union with the larger body. The Superintendent of Edu- 
cation has always been a French Catholic and the English Sec- 
retary is legally his deputy. As a matter of fact, the English 
Secretary has been given a perfectly free hand and has been 
treated as an equal by the Superintendent. The English and 
French Secretaries of the Department of Education were civil 
officers appointed by the government; the secretaries of the dif- 
ferent committees were appointed by the committees. In 1882 
Rev. E. I. Rexford was made English Secretary of the Board. 
He was an exceedingly able officer and did much to improve the 
Protestant secondary schools. In 1886 he became Secretary 
of the Protestant Committee as well, and ever since then the 
same man has filled both positions. 

Special Legislation. In reading the statutes of the province 
from 1876 on, one finds constant enactments dealing with edu- 
cation in the towns and cities. In 1882, for instance, by special 
act Three Rivers was permitted to collect its school taxes along 
with the regular municipal taxes. The city had been doing this 
for more than twenty years without authority. The mayor and 
councillors had acted as school commissioners ex officio, and this 
statute legalized their actions and provided that in future no 
separate collection roll need be made. 

In the same year an act was passed permitting school com- 
missioners and trustees, by a two thirds vote, to enter into an 
agreement with any partnership or company carrying on any 
manufacturing or industrial undertaking whereby their school 
taxes might be commuted for a number of years. They were to 
arrange for the company to pay annually a fixed sum instead of 
the tax; the number of years for which the arrangement was 
made was not to exceed ten. 

A special act passed in 1888 made provision for the schools in 
the town of Richmond. In 1890 the town of Magog was incor- 
porated and a similar statute passed in regard to schools in that 
town. As a specimen of such special legislation, the chief provi- 
sions of the Richmond statute are given. It provided for the 
formation of two Boards of Commissioners, a Roman Catholic 
and a Protestant, each of five members. Each was to be elected 
by its own group of proprietors. The provincial grant was to be 
divided in the proportion of the Roman Catholic and Protestant 
populations of the town according to the then last census. The 



32 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

two boards could meet to settle the amount of the tax, which 
was in no case to be more than five mills, nor less than two. 

The tax was to be levied by the Town Council, as fixed by the 
School Commissioners on the taxable real estate of the munici- 
pality. The assessment roll was to be arranged in four sections 
or panels, as follows: 

Panel Number One — the taxable real estate belonging exclu- 
sively to Roman Catholics. 

Panel Number Two — the taxable real estate belonging exclu- 
sively to Protestants. 

Panel Number Three — the taxable real estate belonging to 
corporations, to Jews, or those whose religion is unknown, or to 
partnerships some of whom prefer the Roman Catholic, some 
the Protestant faith. 

Panel Number Four — all real estate exempt from taxation. 

The proceeds of taxes levied on Panel One were to go to 
Catholic schools ; of Number Two to Protestant schools ; and of 
Number Three, to be divided between the two groups of 
commissioners in the proportion that the Catholic and Protestant 
populations bore to each other according to the then last census. 

This act remains in force still and Richmond is hampered in 
the development of her schools because of the five mills limit. 

Montreal and Quebec were singled out by the Act of 1846 for 
exceptional treatment, as has already been shown. Montreal 
was to receive only one fourth, Quebec one third of what would 
have been their share of the Common * School Fund. These 
school boards were appointed by the city councils and were not 
given the right to levy taxes. The idea expressed in the act was 
that these cities had so many private schools, little money need 
be devoted to public institutions. In 1847 the city council 
of Montreal handed over to the school commissioners the sum 
of $558.05 with which to maintain their schools. From 1846 
to 1 86 1 the board received each year on an average slightly under 
$1,200. This absurd condition could not last and Cap. XXII, 
of 31 Victoria (1868) was an attempt to bring the city councils 
to task. 

The city corporations were required to pay to the Catholic and 
Protestant school commissioners a sum equal to three times their 
share of the legislative grant. If the corporations thought best, 
they could levy a special tax for school purposes. 



Historical Outline 



33 



The next year the provision allowing Montreal one fourth and 
Quebec one third of their proportionate amounts from the provin- 
cial grants was repealed, and they were allowed their full share, as 
other municipalities. The corporations were to pay over to the 
commissioners three times as much as this grant. The corpora- 
tions were to levy each year on real estate in the two cities an assess- 
ment sufficient to cover the sum payable by them for the support 
of their schools, the same to be known as the City School Tax. 

Three of the school commissioners were henceforth appointed 
by the provincial government and three by the council. 

Another change was made in this year which greatly aided 
Protestant education. Up to this time the taxes were collected 
by the corporations and divided between the two boards in 
proportion to population. It so happened that the Protestant 
people possessed more taxable property per head than the 
Catholics, and a division on the basis of taxable property, as was 
common in other parts of the province, was urged by the Prot- 
estants. Although the Catholics stood to lose a good deal of 
revenue, they were square enough to join in a request for a 
change, and in 1869 legislation was passed bringing this about. 

The assessors were to be chosen equally from Catholics and 
Protestants, one of each religion acting for each city ward. 

A part of the tax on corporations was to be divided in the ratio 
of the Roman Catholic and Protestant population, the balance in 
the ratio of the value of the property on Panel One to that on 
Panel Two. 

School boards could charge tuition fees: Elementary schools 
not more than twenty-five cents a month; Model, fifty cents; 
Academies, four dollars. 

This act revolutionized public Protestant education in Mont- 
real. Whereas the average annual income from 1861 to 1867 
was only $i,8io, in 1871, only four years later taxation alone 
yielded $22,816.95 and in 1875, $59,077.94. 

In 1870 an act provided that the corporation no longer pay 
to the commissioners three times the amount received from the 
government grant but one-tenth of a cent on the dollar on the 
total value of the real estate taxable for the purpose of the said 
schools in the said city. 

The commissioners of Montreal could set aside a sum not 
exceeding $8,000 annually for real estate and school buildings. 



34 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

All debentures issued were to be secured by privilege and hypo- 
thec on all real estate and school buildings and property held by 
the commissioners, and all were to be redeemed in twenty years 
after date. 

The same act provided that any person belonging to the 
Jewish persuasion and owning real estate in Montreal could 
deliver to the city treasurer a request in writing, stating on which 
of the panels, One or Two, he wished his real estate property 
inscribed. 

Almost every year new legislation was introduced dealing with 
education. Separate statutes provided for the founding of the 
commercial school of Montreal, the technical schools of Quebec 
and Montreal and other schools of a special nature. 

In order to show how these schools are supported, I shall give 
the items of legislation dealing with the support of the Commer- 
cial High School of Montreal. March 14, 1907, an act was 
passed incorporating a school for higher commercial education. 
The trustees were to be chosen from the members of the chamber 
of commerce of Montreal, by the lieutenant-governor, and were 
to hold office for four years. 

(i) The school was to be supported by an annual grant of 
$20,000 from the Consolidated Revenues of the province. 

(2) A sum of $5,000 a year for forty years granted by the 
chamber of commerce. At the end of that time the plant was 
to belong to them. 

(3) A loan of $300,000 by means of debentures guaranteed 
both as to principal and interest by the provincial government. 

(4) Fees payable by the students. 

By 8 Edward VII, Cap. XXXIX, the bond issue could be 
increased to $500,000, the chamber of commerce payment to 
$7,500 and the annual government grant to $30,000. By 
I George V, Cap. XXI, the bond issue was raised to $600,000 
and the Provincial Grant to $50,000. 

It is interesting to notice how the two school boards of Mont- 
real have asked for legislation permitting them to borrow money. 
For the last few years these acts have come almost annually. 

In 1906 the Roman Catholic commissioners were authorized 
to issue debentures for $250,000 for building purposes and the 
corporation was required to pay to both boards four mills on 
panels one, two and three. 



Historical Outline 35 

In 1909 the Protestant Commissioners were empowered to 
issue debentures for an additional sum of $350,000 and the 
Roman Catholic Commissioners for $150,000. In 1910 the 
Roman Catholic Commissioners were granted authority to bor- 
row another $350,000. In 191 1 each board was empowered to 
borrow $500,000. In 1912 the Roman Catholic board was 
allowed to issue debentures for another $500,000 and the Protes- 
tant an additional sum of $1,000,000, on debentures of not more 
than thirty years, at four per cent; and in 1914 the Protestant 
board was permitted to borrow still another million. The act 
authorizing this loan was passed on the 14th of February, just a 
few months before the war, and even during the war large loans 
have had to be made. 

As large Protestant business and manufacturing concerns have 
become incorporated, the Protestant schools have suffered serious 
losses of income. This has thrown property, mainly Protestant 
in ownership, into the third or neutral panel. While it cannot 
be considered unfair it has increased the problems of the Prot- 
estant Commissioners at a time when a large influx of popula- 
tion, mainly without taxable property, made an extensive build- 
ing programme necessary.^ 

To-day the school buildings and equipment in Montreal are 
as good as can be found in America and the regular school tax 
rate is only five mills on the taxable real estate of the city. 

Strange to say, the school board is still appointed as in the 
old days though many efforts have been made to make it elective. 

Permanent Funds. The tendency to establish funds which 
characterized the systems of education in the American States 
was also present in Quebec. In most cases these funds were no 
more than the annual grants passed by the legislature. When 
Chapter XXII of 31 Victoria stated that the Common School 
Fund would be increased to meet the increased grant for 
Montreal, this meant no more than that a larger appropria- 
tion would be voted by the government. There were certain 
funds, however, which were different, at least in their origin. 
One was that made up of the money received from the confis- 
cated Jesuits estates. It has already been shown how it was 
finally settled that this should be used for education, and the 

* Taxes collected from the third panel are now divided according to the 
numbers of children enrolled in Catholic and Protestant schools. 



36 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

Quebec portion was used to form the Lower Canada Superior 
Education Investment Fund. It is too much to suppose that 
this money had been kept in a chest as directed by the Act of 
1832 and the fact that it had been used in other ways doubtless 
made it that much harder to persuade the government of the 
day to devote the income to educational purposes. 

Another permanent fund was dealt with in 46 Victoria (1883). 
By Chapter 26 of the Consolidated Statute of Canada i ,000,000 
acres of land in the Huron Tract, so called, were appropriated to 
the support of common schools and the establishment of town- 
ship and parish libraries. The revenues were to be divided 
between Upper and Lower Canada, in proportion to population, 
except that one fourth of the proceeds of land sold between June 
14, 1853, and March 6, 1861, with six per cent on the amount for 
expenses of management, was to form an Upper Canada Improve- 
ment Fund. 

At Confederation the fund to be divided after the Upper 
Canada Improvement Fund had been deducted was $1,609,539.29. 
A part of this came from the sale of other public lands set apart 
for educational purposes. This was left in trust in the hands of 
the Dominion government. 

In 1 88 1 the government of Ontario held over and above this 
sum $814,841.98, an accumulation of collections from the same 
source. There were also the collections of 1882. The Act of 
1883 made it lawful for the lieutenant-governor to enter into an 
agreement with the government of Ontario for the purpose of 
finally dividing this fund. Whatever sum was finally paid by 
the government of Ontario was to be handed over to the govern- 
ment of the Dominion to be invested by it. This was to be 
added to the sum already left in trust with the Dominion govern- 
ment and the whole was to form a perpetual fund, the income of 
which was to be used for the support of common schools and the 
establishment of township and parish libraries in the province 
of Quebec. 

In 1889 and 1890 the Jesuits Estates Fund again came in for 
more legislation. The Catholic societies interested had been 
urging that the fund be done away with and the capital paid over 
to them. After a good deal of negotiating, it was agreed to pay 
over to the Catholic group the sum of $400,000 as their share 
and to allot as the Protestants' share $60,000, with the under- 



Historical Outline 37 

standing that it be also distributed. This would do away with 
the Superior Education Fund as a permanent investment. The 
bill was passed and was agreed to by the Protestant members 
of the legislature. 

The Protestant Committee of the Council of Public Instruction 
was not satisfied with this disposition of the fund. It was 
asked by the premier to state how it intended to dispose of the 
$60,000. At a meeting held on December 25, 1889, the commit- 
tee made the following requests of the government: 

(a) That the Superior Education Fund be restored. 

{h) That in case this was not done the Protestants be paid over 
their share of the fund as were the Roman Catholics. 

(c) That the just share of the Protestants, according to 
population by the then last census, was more than $60,000. 

{d) That they be paid arrears of interest. 

Premier Mercier replied to these in full and out of the discussion 
came an act, the main section of which is as follows: "Out of 
any public moneys at his disposal, the lieutenant-governor may 
pay the sum of $62,961 to the Protestant Committee of the 
Council of Public Instruction for Protestant Superior Education 
in this province, together with interest thereon at the rate of four 
per cent per annum from the 30th day of August, 1888." 

The difference in the disposition of the fund and in its amount 
was not great, but a principle was at stake. The Protestants in 
Quebec were, are, and probably always will be in a hopeless 
minority. The Protestant Committee took the stand that the 
legislature should pass no acts whatever dealing with Protestant 
education without first laying the proposed legislation before 
the Protestant Committee and receiving its assent. As there 
was no protection for the minority in the House, the Protestant 
Committee was right. The Catholic majority were wise enough 
to see the question in this light and again took the conciliatory 
course. The Protestants still hold their share as a permanent 
fund. 

In 1897 the act of 60 Victoria, Chapter 3, gave to the lieuten- 
ant-governor in council the authority to set aside one and a half 
million acres of lands, to be appropriated for elementary educa- 
tion. Moneys arising from the sale or disposal of any portion 
of these lands were to be invested and applied towards creating 
a capital sum sufficient, at the rate of four per cent, to produce 



38 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

an income of $60,000 annually. The capital and income were 
to form the Elementary School Fund, the capital to be invested 
in federal or provincial debentures, or inscribed stock. The 
income, under the direction of the lieutenant-governor in council, 
was to be used by the superintendent of schools in promoting 
elementary education in poor municipalities, aiding schools for 
the benefit of the working classes in cities and towns, improving 
the condition of elementary and model-school teachers, supplying 
school books gratuitously and generally providing for the more 
efficient diffusion of elementary education throughout the prov- 
ince. Until the sum reached $60,000, there was to be granted 
annually $50,000 out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the 
province. 

This grant was later increased to two million acres of land and 
it was provided that until the net income should amount to 
$180,000 annually, the legislature should grant $150,000 annually 
for the purposes mentioned before. After the income from the 
permanent fund amounted to $180,000 annually, the legislative 
grant should no longer be paid unless the annual returns fell 
below this sum, in which case the legislature was to make up the 
difference. 

There is still another small permanent fund held in trust for 
use of Protestant schools. Before confederation, there was no 
separate legislature for Quebec, the two Canadas were under 
the one parliament. After confederation, the new Canadian 
government collected and kept the revenues from marriage 
licenses in the province of Quebec. After 1873 the revenue was 
collected by Quebec, but the Dominion government still held the 
$28,000 already collected. In 1883 this sum was handed over 
for the support of Protestant Superior Education in Quebec. 
As the Catholic population buy no licenses, but have the banns 
published in their churches, the fund is of Protestant origin and 
according to usage rightly belongs to that group of the popula- 
tion. Money received each year from licenses is added to this 
fund and the whole income distributed annually by the Protes- 
tant Committee. 

Permanent Funds in Other Provinces. In New Brunswick, 
Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, there are no permanent 
funds and no lands held by the provincial governments for the 
support of schools. In Ontario the only permanent fund reported 



Historical Outline 39 

is the Clergy Reserves Fund and it exists only as a matter of 
bookkeeping. In the pubHc account of Ontario under the head 
of assets is the following item : 

Common School Fund: 1,000,000 acres set apart. Proceeds realized 
to 31st December, 1914, $2,635,834.16; portion belonging to Ontario as 
per population of 191 1, $1,469,498.97. 

This land was set apart for the United Canadas before confedera- 
tion and is held in trust by the Dominion government. The 
interest is collected by the government of Ontario as in the days 
before confederation and paid by Ontario to the Dominion 
government, which hands it over to the two provinces. British 
Columbia as yet does not seem to have set apart any land for 
the support of public schools. 

In Manitoba, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, sections 11 and 29 
in each township have been reserved to aid in supporting public 
schools. This makes up about one-eighteenth of the area of 
these three provinces. The lands are administered by the 
Dominion government in trust and the revenue invested in 
Dominion securities. The interest is paid yearly to the prov- 
inces. To April I, 1914, there had been sold: 

For Manitoba . . . 640,210 acres at an average price of $9.87 $6,220,775 

Saskatchewan. .. .608,798 " " " " " " 14.55 8,861,745 

Alberta 558,804 " ' " "11.68 6,523,832 

There is still unsold: 

Manitoba 7,500,713 acres valued at $75,500,713 

Saskatchewan 7.327,853 " " " 73,327,853 

Alberta 6,990,997 " " " 69,990,9971 

At the moderate price of ten dollars an acre these unsold lands 
would be worth to each province as carried out above. At four 
per cent this would be worth to Manitoba $3,268,860 annually. 
In addition to this, in order to further assist Manitoba, 150,000 
acres of public lands in that province were set apart for the 
University of Manitoba. 

The capital amount received from all lands sold is held at 
Ottawa and the interest paid annually to the provinces. The 
advantage of leaving the land in the hands of the Dominion 
government is obvious. When one studies the history of school 
funds there is but one story revealed. The local authorities 

^ Heaton's Annual, 1916. 



40 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

have spent the money in a time of emergency, and while the 
romance was still kept up on the books, the annual income for 
school purposes was really found in the pockets of the tax-payer. 

The province of Ontario originally contained 144,961,636 
acres. In 1888 this was increased by the addition of 22,000,000 
acres, and, in 1912, 93,696,000 more acres were added. In 1871, 
Quebec comprised 123,875,200 acres. In 1898 there were added 
101,323,361 acres, and by an act of 1912, 227,375,000 acres were 
added, making a total area of 452,573,561 acres. Before 1912, 
Manitoba comprised 47,188,298 acres, but that year 114,091,- 
702 acres were added by Dominion enactment. These huge 
grants have been from land belonging to the whole of Canada. 

From their geographical position the three eastern provinces 
have no opportunity for extension of territory; yet the wealth 
of these provinces contributed to the original purchase of 
the West, to the building of the western roads and the opening 
up of that great territory. Almost all the surplus manhood 
of the East has gone to the West where it has been the great 
moving and steadying influence, shaping and controlling the 
political, social, and economic conditions of that new and 
unformed country. The people in the little Eastern provinces 
think it would be no more than just, if, in lieu of endowment 
in land, the Federal government should give them the annual 
interest on securities, equivalent to the land held by the 
Federal government, for the endowment of the schools of Mani- 
toba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. This very same thing was 
done in the United States. When the public lands of the West 
were divided up among various states, those receiving no such 
lands were assisted out of the Federal treasury. 

School Rates or Monthly Fees. When the principle of taxation 
was accepted in 1841 and in 1846, school fees were still required. 
By the Statute of 1899, the provisions in regard to rates con- 
tinued as follows: 

The School Corporation shall fix a monthly fee at the time they deter- 
mine the school tax and it shall be the same for all elementary schools in 
the municipality. It is payable to the secretary-treasurer by the father, 
mother, tutor, curator or guardian of each child from seven to fourteen 
years of age, able to attend school for the months during which the school 
in their district is open. In elementary schools it must not be more than 
fifty cents a month nor less than five cents. It may be higher for pupils 



Historical Outline 41 

attending model school or academy. No pupil from seven to fourteen 
shall be excluded from school for the non-payment of monthly fees. 
These fees can be collected by law the same as taxes. 

The fee cannot be exacted from indigent persons; nor can it 
be exacted (o) for insane, deaf, dumb or blind children; {b) for 
children who are unable to attend school owing to serious and 
prolonged illness; (c) for children who are attending some private 
school or are away from the municipality for the purpose of 
education. 

As the fee was required from children from five to fourteen 
whether they attended school or not, it was supposed to act 
something like a compulsory law. Figures do not seem to bear 
out that supposition. It was supposed to give the secretary- 
treasurer an incentive to hunt out the children who were not at 
school, and, while collecting the fee, he could preach a sermon 
on school attendance. 

In 1912 the school commissioners and trustees were given the 
right to abolish monthly fees. Once passed, the resolution 
abolishing them was to remain in force from year to year unless 
set aside by another resolution establishing them again. ^ In 
another chapter figures will be given showing that the majority 
of municipalities have not abolished the monthly rate. 

Education of the Jews. The school system of the province is a 
compromise between two religious bodies. There is no intention, 
however, to allow this love of fair play so to extend as to allow 
other religious denominations to maintain denominational 
schools at public expense. This question came urgently to the 
front in regard to the Jews in Montreal, and in 1903 an act was 
passed settling the dispute. 

The Jews naturally claimed the right to have their children 
educated in the public schools and had sent them almost exclu- 
sively to Protestant schools. The Protestant School Board of 
Montreal refused to provide school accommodation and to edu- 
cate the children of those Jews who owned no immovable property 
subject to taxation. The Protestant committee upheld the board 
in this contention. The Jews had to go to school somewhere, 
and the Act of 1903 was passed to make provision for them. 

Henceforth all Jews were, for school purposes, to be treated 
in the same manner as Protestants, subject to the same rights 

1 3 George V, Chap. 23, Statutes of the Province of Qmhec. 



42 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

and privileges. In every municipality in the province they were 
to pay their school taxes to, or for the benefit of, the Protestant 
corporation, when one existed. All the immovable property of 
Jews was to be listed on the Protestant Panel, whenever property 
was so divided for the purpose of assessment, and in taking a 
school census and apportioning all grants, the Jewish population 
was to be counted as Protestant. Jewish children, however, 
were not to be compelled to study religious books, etc., to which 
their parents objected. 

Pensions. By the Act of 1856, $8,000 a year was to be granted 
by the legislature for pensions and five per cent of salary was to 
be paid in by each teacher who participated. This was to be 
distributed on the basis of four dollars for each year the person 
claiming the pension had taught. The money raised was far 
from sufficient and the amount per year was reduced to three 
dollars or under. 

A more comprehensive law was passed in 1880 and put in 
operation in 1886. By this law a new fund was established. 
Those who had a claim on the original fund have been growing 
fewer in number and the sum paid them is now back to the four 
dollars again. There are not sufficient claimants to use the whole 
$8,000 on this basis, but the whole sum is voted each year and 
the balance turned over to the Common Pension Fund. 

The Pension Fund at present is made up from five sources: 

{a) A levy of not less than two per cent nor more than four 
per cent per annum, on the salary of every teacher in schools 
under commissioners or trustees, or in any schools subsidized by 
the government, and on the salaries of inspectors. 

(&) A deduction of four per cent annually from the Public 
School Fund and from the part of the Superior Education Fund 
used for common schools. 

(c) An annual grant of $27,000 from the provincial legislature. 

id) The original grant already described. 

(e) Interest on a fund made up from various sources, but 
chiefly from arrears of stoppages paid up by or deducted from the 
pensions of teachers who wished to participate in the pension 
fund, and of annual surpluses. This money from time to time 
was invested in Dominion or provincial bonds and formed a fund 
in 1915 of $205,971.46. 



Historical Outline 43 

The revenue, expenditure, and capital of the fund were, in 
1915-16, as follows:^ 

TABLE I 
Revenue, Expenditure, and Capital of Pension Fund, 19 15-16 

REVENUE 

Stoppage of 4% on $200,000.00 grant to public 

schools $8,000 . 00 

Grant from government 27,000 .00 

Sum voted by legislature 2,000 .00 

Interest on capital 10,021 .49 

Surplus from old fund 2,894 .00 

Stoppage of 2% on teachers' salaries 45.589 . 17 

Stoppage of 2% on salaries of school inspectors .... 2,183 • 72 
Stoppage of 2% on salaries of normal school pro- 
fessors 774 . 28 

Stoppage of 2% paid to department by teachers 

themselves 2,789 . 56 

Transferred from public school fund (Stoppage of 

4%) 9,000 . 00 

Transferred from elementary school fund 7,500.00 

$121,752.22* 

EXPENDITURE 

For pensions, cheques issued $1 18,097 . 01 

Repayments 700 .91 

Cost of management 804 . 50 

Deposited with Provincial Treasury towards capi- 
tal, deducted from pensions, 1915-16 822.71 

Surplus for the year i ,327 . 09 

$121,752.22 

CAPITAL ACCOUNT 
REVENUES 

Deposited in trust in the Provincial Treasury 

Surplus from 1914-15 $338 . 12 

Surplus from 1915-16 1,327.09 

$1,665.21 
CAPITAL OF PENSION FUND 

Amount of capital, July i, 1915 $204,948.75 

Carried to capital, for year 1915-16 822.71 



$205,771-46 



^ Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1915-16. 
^ This total is copied accurately from the report. The error is 
probably in the items. 



70 


$29,168.37 


$339 16 


62 


57,377-71 


113-39 


52 


2,004 -zg 


334-04 


49 


20,057.69 


97.84 


67 


4,178.39 


219.91 



44 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

The number and average ages of pensioners of the new pension 
fund and the average amount of pensions paid to June 30, 19 16, 
are as follows: 

NtTMBER 

Pensioners of Average Total of Average 

(Division according to age of pensioners) Pen- Age Pensioners Pension 

SIGNERS 

Male teachers 56 years and over 86 

Female teachers 56 years and over 506 

Male teachers under 56 years 6 

Female teachers under 56 years 205 

Teachers' widows 19 

Totals and total averages 822 59 $112,786.45 $137. 20^ 

The amount of pensions to be granted is worked out on the 
following basis. To a man who has taught twenty years or more 
and who has reached the age of fifty-six, will be granted an 
annual sum equal to two per cent of the average salary received 
by him each year during the period he paid his percentage into 
the fund, up to thirty-five years. For example, if a man had 
taught thirty-two years at an average salary of $1,000, he would 
have received in all $32,000. Two per cent of this sum, or $640, 
would be his yearly pension. No pension, however, is to be less 
than $75 nor more than $805 in any one year. A woman teacher 
receives three per cent of her average salary estimated on the 
same basis as men, described above. 

To make clearer the actual working of the system, as applied 
to living teachers, Table II gives a distribution of the sums paid 
out of the funds in 1915-16. 

An examination of this table surprises one who has not seen 
the distribution before. The pension system of Quebec has been 
generally considered satisfactory by those on the outside. Teach- 
ers receiving pensions from the old fund get an average of $68.36 
a year, while the average for the new fund is $134.37 ^ year. 
The largest single group under the old fund get between $40 and 
$60, while more than half of those under the new fund get 
between $50 and $100 annually. 

^ Superintendent's Report, 1915-16. 



Historical Outline 



45 



TABLE II 
Distribution of Payments on Pensions 



OLD 


FUND 


NEW 


FUND 


Payments in 


Number receiving 


Payments in 


Number receiving 


1915-16 


each sum 


1915-16 


each sum 


$2a-$39 


9 


$i-$49 


31 


40- 59 


13 


50- 99 


530 


60- 79 


9 


100-149 


141 


80- 99 


8 


150-199 


47 


100-119 


4 


200-249 


24 


120-139 


7 


250-299 


17 


140-159 


2 


300-349 


37 


160-179 


I 


350-399 


8 


180-199 


I 


400-449 


9 


200-219 


I 


450-499 


7 


Mean 68 . 36 




500-549 


9 


Mode 50 




550-599 
600-649 


4 
6 






650-699 


I 






700-749 


I 






750-799 


2 






800-849 


I 






850-899 


I 






900-949 









950-999 









I 000- I 049 


2 






I 050- I 099 


2 






Mean 134.37 








Mode 75 . 00 





CHAPTER II 
SCHOOL FINANCE 

While the province of Quebec is divided into counties, the 
county is not the taxing unit. Each county of the province 
is divided into parishes or into similar divisions called townships 
and these are the taxing units. Each township has its locally 
elected officers, consisting of a mayor and six councillors. These 
form the Municipal Council. The officers of the municipal 
council are a secretary-treasurer, three assessors, a rural inspector, 
pound-keepers, and road inspectors. The County Council is 
made up of the mayors of all the municipalities in the county. 
The head of the council is called the warden.^ 

The local municipalities vary in size; some contain 100,000 
acres and others but a few hundred. The population is as varied 
as the size of the municipality, with no correlation between the 
two. The valuation per acre varies from an average of fifty 
cents in Wolfe County to $153.50 in Hochelaga County. 

All cities and towns, and many of the villages, are separated 
from the rest of the township of which they are geographically 
a part. The cities are governed by their charters granted by 
special acts, and amendments since passed by the legislature. 
The towns are governed by the Municipal Code, by a special 
act of incorporation, or by the Cities and Towns Act with its 
amendments. The lieutenant-governor in council may erect any 
territory forming a village municipality into a town munici- 
pality if it contain at least 6,000 inhabitants, and a village 
or town municipality into a city, if it contain at least 15,000 
inhabitants. 

The boundaries of the general municipalities may be the same 
as those of the school municipalities, and they often are, but not 
necessarily so. There were in the province in 1915, 878 rural 
municipalities, 200 village municipalities, 76 town municipalities, 
and 15 city municipalities, 1169 in all, not counting as separate 
municipalities the 72 counties. Of school municipalities there 

^ The Municipal Code of the Province of Quebec, 1916 revision. 

46 



School Finance 47 

were in the same year, 1319 Catholic and 352 Protestant, 1671 
in all. 

The extra number of school municipalities has not come 
so much from disregarding township and parish lines as from 
dividing these units on a religious basis, some Catholic and some 
Protestant. 

It must not be supposed that there are always dividing lines 
between school municipalities. Where the population is mixed 
this is seldom the case. In a rural township there may be both a 
Catholic and a Protestant school municipality each, as it were, 
shot through the other. French and English farmers live side 
by side; the farm of one is in the Catholic school municipality, 
the farm of the other is in the Protestant. At the present time 
when farms are changing hands frequently a property that is in 
the Protestant school municipality this year may be in the 
Catholic next year, and while the one school board will have more 
money for school support, the other may be forced to increase 
the taxes or close the school. 

Take, as an example, the county of Brome where there are 
the following townships: 

TABLE III 
Townships in Brome County 

Number of Number of 

Rate Payers^ Acres Taxable Valuation 

Bolton East 410 48,093 $3,791,648 

Bolton West 189 24,994 279,605 

Brome 637 56,612 1,036,655 

East Farnham 52 1,198 56,798 

Eastman 124 146,575 

Farnham East 365 30,261 677,519 

Knowlton 375 2,000 436,030 

Potton 440 63,985 681,300 

Sutton (village) 300 740 310,740 

Sutton 400 61,500 958,630 

3292 289,383 $8,385,500 

Comparing these townships with the school municipalities in 
the same county, one sees that a number of townships have been 
split up into sections that much resemble the school district of 
other provinces. 

1 A rate payer is any person who is liable to taxation on real estate which he 
owns or occupies. 



48 



School Funds in the Province of Quebec 



TABLE IV 
Brome County School Municipalities 

Number Number of Taxable 
of Rate Persons Paying Property acc'd 
Payers Monthly Fees to Value 

C Abercorn 23 10 3,579 

P Bolton East 350 135 240,923 

P Bolton West 165 62 248,590 

P Brome Township 510 200 831,015 

C Eastman 62 35 70,900 

PD Eastman 57 15 73,425 

P Farnham East 175 66 350,775 

P Knowlton (village) 252 100 394,530 

P Mansonville 55 37 103,850 

P Potton 321 472,650 

C St.-Cajetan 73 80 104,950 

C St.-Andre-de-Sutton 85 20 138,500 

C St.-Etienne-de-Bolton ... 94 53 103,812 

C Edourd-de-Knowlton . . . . 40 24 58,111 
C St.-Francis-Xavier-de- 

East-Farnham 10 8 31,842 

C St.-Henri-de-Brome 34 16 54,7 10 

C St.-Vincent-d'Adamsville. 164 68 266,459 

P Sutton 401 150 688,000 

P Sutton Village 146 103 322,000 

C Sutton Village 52 39 77, 520 



3069 1221 4,636,141 

P = Under the control of Protestant school commissioners. 
C = Under the control of Catholic school commissioners. 
D = Dissentient, and therefore under school trustees, not commissioners. 

Here the ten regular townships have been divided into twenty 
school municipalities. 

Brome was originally an English county, as the names indicate. 
As the French have come in they have applied for division of 
property, and the result has been the doubling of the number 
of taxation units. The tendency seems to be to increase the 
divisions, although in the counties where the people are mainly 
of one religion there is no such difference as in Brome. On an 
average each Catholic board has 4.5 schools under its control, 
and each Protestant board has 2.3.^ 

The money to support the common schools comes from pro- 
vincial grants, municipal assessment, and monthly rates. These 
have been fully described in Chapter I. 

^ Educational Statistics, Quebec, 1915-16. 



School Finance 49 

For the collection of the annual school taxes, of special levies, 
and of monthly rates, the secretary-treasurer is the man respon- 
sible. He collects and pays out all moneys. The secretary- 
treasurer of the regular municipality must give the valuation or 
the part of it covering the territory of the school section in 
question into the hands of the secretary-treasurer of the school 
municipality. If the school section is made up of parts of differ- 
ent municipalities, in one of which the valuation is higher than 
in another, the commissioners and trustees may have three 
competent men make a re-valuation. The secretary-treasurer 
must give public notice that the roll is ready, and it has to remain 
in his office for thirty days for examination. Then on a fixed 
date the trustees, or commissioner^, examine the roll, hear 
interested parties, and look into written complaints, if any have 
been filed. This roll, after having been properly corrected and 
signed, serves as a basis for the collection of school rates, and 
remains in force until the municipal or school authorities have 
prepared another. 

Every valuator for school purposes has to possess immovable 
property in the municipality in which he is called upon to act, 
of a value of at least four hundred dollars, according to the 
municipal valuation roll. 

The secretary-treasurer makes a collection rate which must be 
deposited in his.office, left open for examination, and finally cor- 
rected by the school authorities. The school board may then 
proceed to collect the taxes and rates through their own secretary- 
treasurer, or they may require the local council of the city, town, 
village, or rural municipality, to collect for them. The latter 
method is the usual one. If payment is not made, movable or 
immovable property may be seized and sold by the regular process 
of law. 

The commissioners of schools only have the right to collect 
taxes from corporations, but they must divide the money so col- 
lected with the trustees, if any, in proportion to school attendance 
the previous year. No religious, charitable, or educational insti- 
tution can be assessed except on property it may hold for the 
purpose of deriving an income. A non-resident rate-payer may 
declare in writing his intention of dividing his assessments 
between the commissioners and trustees. In such a case the 
commissioners collect the tax, and hand over to the trustees their 
proportion. 



50 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

School commissioners or trustees may levy a special assessment, 
with the consent of the lieutenant-governor in council, for the 
payment of debts and for the construction of elementary or 
model schools. 

In many of these school municipalities, rural as well as urban, 
there are a number of schools, and often several school districts. 
All sums of money in each municipality form a common fund, 
without regard to the district from which they were collected, 
and must be used for the payment of teachers and the running 
expenses of the schools throughout the whole municipality. 

In addition to the local school funds, there are such provincial 
funds as {a) the Public School Fund, {h) the Elementary School 
Fund, (c) the Poor Municipality Fund, {d) the Superior Educa- 
tion Fund. The history of these funds has been traced in the 
previous chapter, and the distribution will be given later. 

In 1915-16, the provincial budget, for all purposes, was 
$13,893,780. Of this $1,882,838, or 13.55 per cent, was spent 
for educational purposes.^ The total amount raised for educa- 
tion in the various municipalities by regular taxation was $5,712,- 
430. An additional sum of $349,536 was raised by a special tax, 
and $365,281 was collected by means of monthly fees. There 
was contributed by independent or private schools which received 
government grants, $4,105,882.2 

In 19 1 5-1 6 the assessed value of taxable property in all the 
municipalities was $1,302,331,332. The municipalities spent 
for ordinary purposes other than school, $29,501,472, or 2.26 
per cent on the assessed value of taxable property. There was 
spent for schools, including money from all sources, .953^ per cent 
on the taxable property of the provinces. There is included in 
the sum expended on education, the $4,105,822 contributed by 
independent schools. This sum is made up of the income of 
universities, colleges, boys' boarding schools, classical colleges, 
convents, and all private or church schools which get grants from 
the Superior Education Fund or from other provincial sources. 

As much of this money is received for general expenses, and as 
a part of it comes from the endowments of these independent 

1 Qitehec Statistical Year Book, 19 17. 

2 Superintendent' s Report, 1915-16. 

3 This decimal does not represent the rate of tax levied. That will be given 
in the next chapter. Unlike the states of the Union, the province of Quebec 
does not levy any regular taxes either on property or on income. 



School Finance 51 

institutions, a portion should be deducted before making fair 
comparisons with expenditures for education in other provinces. 
There is a large number of these private or semi-private schools 
managed mainly by societies of the Catholic Church, stalifed 
largely by nuns, brothers and priests of that communion, yet 
receiving grants from the provincial government. The presence 
of these schools makes it hard to secure figures as to the cost of 
education comparable with those of the other provinces, where 
these schools do not exist in such numbers. These schools are 
really maintained by the money of the province, though no 
direct tax is levied for their support. If we leave them out, it 
would seem as if the province were behind other provinces in the 
amount expended for education. If their outlay is added, there 
is danger of including large items of board, buildings, and furnish- 
ings that should not belong to a public school system, as ordi- 
narily understood. 

In 1915-16 there was spent in the province for education per 
head of total population, $5.38. In using this figure it must 
be kept in mind that the universities, colleges, and higher tech- 
nical schools are included. 

By including (i) the incomes of these subsidized schools, so 
called, (2) the large grants given to universities and technical 
schools and reform institutions, (3) a part of the Dominion sub- 
sidies to aid agricultural education, the cost of education per 
pupil has come up with unusual rapidity. In 1899-1900 it was 
$9.87 per enrolled pupil. In 1905-06, ten years before the year 
of which the figures are given in this study, it was $12.03, ^nd in 
1915-16 it was $25.30 per enrolled child. It would thus appear 
that the cost per enrolled child has increased in the decade more 
than 100 per cent. This gives a wrong impression. There has 
been no such increase in the cost of education as given in the 
regular public schools. Any increase should show itself first in 
increased salaries for teachers. In most country schools this is 
the main item. 

In 1905-06 the salaries of male teachers averaged $677; 
the salaries of female teachers, $155. In 1915-16, the salaries 
of males averaged $966, of females $273 ;^ an increase in males of 
42.6 per cent and in females of 43.2 per cent. In the same 
decade in Ontario, the salaries of teachers in similar schools 



^ Educational Statistics, Quebec, 1915-16. 



52 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

increased 104 per cent, and total expenditure 108 per cent. 
In salaries paid teachers, Quebec makes a very unfavorable 
showing as compared with her sister province. 

The following statement of money paid out for school purposes 
by the municipalities, as given in the Financial Statement of 
School Corporations, shows how the money devoted to municipal 
schools was spent in 191 5- 16: 

Salaries of teachers $3,703,991 . 19 

Heating and janitors' work 59I.093 • 12 

Repairs and furnishings 571,976.04 

New buildings 2,637,650 . 10 

Salaries of sec-treasurers 190,162 . 70 

Paid on bonds 265,690 . 29 

Paid on other loans 2,869,988 .41 

Paid for interest i ,082,032 . 88 

Other payments 1,827,303 .49 

Total $13,739,888,221 

The total expenditure of municipalities, including counties, for 
the year is divided into ordinary payments and extraordinary 
as follows : 

Ordinary payments $29,500,492 

Extraordinary payments 25,107,785 

The total expenses of the province in 191 5-16 are given as 
$13,893,780.^ In the Statement of Public Accounts for the same 
year the expenses are given in detail and total $16,459,721.27.2 
These dual figures in municipalities and province need explana- 
tion. 

It is the custom in public accounting in Canada to make a 
sharp distinction between current revenue and capital account. 
There was spent for public schools by municipalities in 1915-16, 
$13,738,882. Of this $587,236.46 came from provincial grants; 
$6,427,247.25 was collected by means of the special and regular 
tax, and monthly fees; $3,904,075.81 was borrowed on long term 
loans; and $2,062,829.96 was secured by means of temporary 
loans. Not all the assessment was collected promptly, and a 

^ The money paid on loans is not included in statements of the annual cost 
of education given in the Superintendent's report, and consequently these 
figures do not agree with those already given. 

* Quebec Statistical Year Book, 1915-16. 

3 Public Accounts of Quebec, 1915-16. 



School Finance 53 

part of the short term loan would be paid back from this source. 
The balance is made up from that part of the income of independ- 
ent schools which was raised by assessment and school fees. 

The point I wish to make clear is that the money borrowed is 
not counted in any reports of the cost of education for the year. 
The idea seems to be that the annual interest and payment on 
principal will come in from year to year, and will then be reported. 
It is, however, a never ending process, for, as the country grows, 
the annual sum needed for buildings, sites, and equipment will 
never grow less. 

These figures include all schools under the control of school 
boards in city, town, and rural district. Attention should be 
called to the fact that the amount of government grants received 
by these school commissioners during 1915-16, was $587,263.52, 
or 31 per cent of the whole grant. This, then, is the amount 
out of $1,882,837 granted by the province for education that 
reached the public schools directly in 1915-16. It does not 
include, of course, $48,000 given by the government to teachers 
as a bonus for special excellence. 

In order to make this point clearer, it seems necessary to give a 
somewhat detailed statement of the various ways in which the 
government grants, including permanent funds, were apportioned. 

TABLE V 
Grants for Public Instruction, 1915-16 
superior education 
For distribution amongst Roman Catholic Institutions (out 

of the Superior Education Fund) $74,000. 00 

For distribution amongst Protestant Institutions (out of the 

Superior Education Fund) 14,282 .00 

Laval University, Quebec 25,000 . 00 

Laval University, Montreal 25,000.00 

McGill University, Montreal 25,000.00 

Bishops College, Lennoxville 2,500 .00 

High Schools, Quebec and Montreal 2,470.00 

Polytechnic School, Montreal 55,ooo . 00 

The Quebec Technical School 36,000 . 00 

The Montreal Technical School 40,000.00 

Aid towards the maintenance of Technical Schools outside of 

the cities of Quebec and Montreal 7,000.00 

Montreal Technical Institute 5,000 .00 

Normal Schools 185,000.00 

Towards salary of an Inspector of Protestant Superior Schools 700 . 00 



54 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

"Ecoles des hautes etudes commerciales de Montreal" $50,000.00 

Special aid towards Protestant education in the province, to be 
applied as recommended by a resolution of the Protestant 

Committee of Public Instruction 8,000 .00 

Grant to help found and maintain a chair of surveying in the 

city of Quebec 5,000 . 00 

SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF AND DUMB AND THE BLIND 

Catholic Institution for Boys, Montreal 15,000.00 

Catholic Institution for Girls, Montreal 10,000.00 

Nazareth Institute, Montreal 1,600.00 

Mackay Institute, Montreal 1,600.00 28,200.00 

Special grant to school municipalities to encourage the con- 
struction and maintenance of new academies for boys. . . . 50,000 .00 

To encourage the teaching of French by specialists in the 
Protestant academies, in conformity with the recommen- 
dations of the Protestant Committee of Public Instruction 4,000 . 00 

PUBLIC SCHOOLS, ETC. 

Public Schools, distributed on the basis of enrollment the pre- 
vious year 200,000 . 00 

To be distributed out of the Public School Fund, amongst 
public schools, not in cities or towns, provided the muni- 
cipalities concerned pay their teachers an annual salary 

of, at least, $125 125,000.00 

To be distributed out of the Public School Fund, amongst public 
schools, not in cities or towns, provided the municipali- 
ties concerned pay their teachers an annual salary of, at 

least, $150 60,000.00 

To be distributed out of the Public School Fund, amongst pub- 
lic schools, not in cities or towns, provided the munici- 
palities concerned pay their teachers an annual salary 

of, at least, $175 30,000 .00 

To be distributed out of the Public School Fund, amongst pub- 
lic schools, not in cities or towns, provided the munici- 
palities concerned pay their teachers an annual salary 

of, at least, $200 10,000 . 00 

Schools in poor municipalities, first divided between Catholics 

and Protestants on basis of population 25,000.00 

Gratuities to Teachers 17,000 . 00 

Elementary School Fund 150,000 . 00 

Grant to village and rural school municipalities which employ 

male teachers for boys 10-18 years 14,000.00 

For teaching of drawing in primary schools 5,000.00 

Inspection of Schools 89,000 .00 

Superannuated Teachers 8,000 . 00 

Teachers' Pension Fund 29,000 . 00 

Association of Protestant Teachers 200 . 00 



School Finance 55 

Books for prizes, binding or school requisites $12,000 .00 

Council of Public Instruction 4,000 .00 

Supplementary aid to the Protestant Committee of Council 

of Public Instruction 1,500.00 

Towards the publication of a French journal and of an English 

journal on public instruction 8,500 .00 

The Academy of Music of Quebec 382 .60 

Scholastic Museum 600 . 00 

Superintendent's Report 1,100.00 

Pedagogical Lectures 8,500 . 00 

Grants to the most deserving municipalities subject to report 

of inspectors 10,000 . 00 

Gratification for 10, 15 and 20 years in teaching 31,000.00 

Night Schools and Dress-cutting Schools 34>707 31 

"Monument National," Montreal 4,000.00 

Canadian Archives, toward binding and renewal 534 . 50 



$1,521,176.41 

This sum, $1,521,176.41, is all of the provincial money admin- 
istered by the Department of Public Instruction. In the 
Superintendent's Report for 1916-17, the following sums are 
given without detail : 

TABLE VI 

Additional Sums Given in 19 15-16 for Education but not through 
THE Department of Public Instruction 

By the Provincial Secretary $203,241 .81 

By Minister of Public Works 5,183 . 84 

By Treasurer of the Province 29,022 . 1 1 

By Minister of Agriculture 154,800.64 

By Minister of Lands and Forests 8,000 .00 

Total $400,248 . 40 

Turning to the Statement of Public Accounts of the Province 
I find the following:^ 

(i) Salaries of thirty officers and clerks of the Department of 

Public Instruction $43,983 .33 

(2) Grants to seven reform and industrial schools 145,000.00 

(3) Grants from the regular funds of the Agricultural Depart- 

ment for agricultural and domestic science schools 51,862 .00 

(4) Grants out of the special Federal subsidy for agricultural 

and domestic science work in regular schools 83,500.00 

^ This is the only way I can account for the $400,248.40, but the report 
does not label these items as belonging to education. 



56 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

(5) Various other grants for lecturers and instruction on agricul- 
tural subjects (partly taken from the Federal grant to 
make up the sum of 1154,800.64 charged to Education) . $75,903 .07 



$400,248.40 



I have gone carefully over the public accounts of Ontario, and 
find that similar figures have not been included by the Minister 
of Education in making up the total expense for education. 
This can be clearly seen in the statement of the Revenues and 
Expenses for Ontario which follow. 

TABLE VII 
Receipts for Education in Ontario for Year Ending December 31, 19 15 

government grants, as in public accounts 

Through Department of Education $2,067,740.63 

Civil Government, salaries of officers, etc 28,300.00 

Department of Agriculture 

(a) Regular 235,047 .471 

{b) Dominion Subsidy 19,171 -Ss' 

Special grant to University of Toronto 93,960.001 

Succession duties paid to University of Toronto 588,723 .38J 

For salary of Minister of Education 6,000 .001 

Special for normal school salaries 1,855 .00' 

Municipal taxes as in Municipal Statistics 13,119,530.00 

Other sources, such as balance, tuition fees, etc 1,861,973 .00 



$18,022,301.33 

Expenditures as in the Report of the Minister of Education 

Paid for salaries of public and separate school teachers $7,614,110.00 

All other expenses for public and separate schools 6,653,366.00 

Paid for salaries of continuation school teachers 219,660.00 

All other expenses in connection with continuation schools. 91,134.00 

Paid high school and collegiate institute teachers 1,472,673 .00 

All other expenses connected with high schools 998,301 .00 



$17,049,244.00 



1 In Ontario these grants are not included in the expenditures of schools 
given by the Department of Education. Neither are grants to reform schools, 
and schools for the mentally defective. In Quebec all similar funds are 
included in the report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. 



School Finance 




•%,000,006 



/ 5-06,006 



/, 006,006 



SOO, 060 



/i^p^ 



y?-?f 



rprr 



fp^ff^ W-V '^-^sy^-^r 



FiG. I. The Sources of School Funds in the Province of Quebec from Con- 
federation to 1916. 

Number of Children to be Educated 
It is not easy to arrive at the number of children in the province 
of school age. Each year the secretary-treasurer is required to 
send in to the Department of Public Instruction a census of the 
children in the district. From these reports the figures are 
worked out for the whole province. These are often mere guesses 
by the secretary-treasurers, and are of questionable value. Not 
only this, no census at all is taken in the cities of Montreal, 



58 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

Quebec, Hull, Sherbrooke, and some other places.^ The popula- 
tions of these cities make up more than one third of the population 
of the whole province. An estimate is made of places that do not 
report on the basis of those municipalities that do report. It is 
not necessary to point out the weakness of a method of this kind, 
more especially when the estimate is of a special group, as in this 
case. Again, some places like Drummondville report, as the 
school census, the exact number of children enrolled. The adop- 
tion of such methods as these renders the whole census valueless. 
Fortunately, the Dominion census provides a ready method of 
checking the local estimate. I give below the numbers of chil- 
dren in the province by the Dominion census of 189 1, of 190 1, and 
of 191 1, and the corresponding figures published by the Superin- 
tendent of Public Instruction for the same dates : 
Dominion Census, i8gi 

Boys and girls, 5 to 15 368,596 

Boys and girls, 15 to 16 31,250^ 

Total of school age 399,846 

Total by Local Census 344,588 

Number missed by Local Census (13.8 per cent of 

the whole) 55.258 

Dominion Census, igoi 

Boys and girls, 5 to 15 400,403 

Boys and girls, 15 to 16 ; 35,000^ 

Total of school age 435,403 

Total by Local Census 378,101 

Number missed by Local Census (13 per cent of 

the whole group) 57.302 

Dominion Census, igii 

Boys and girls, 5 to 15 465,189 

Boys and girls, 15 to 16 40,000^ 

Total of school age 505.189 

Total by Local Census 450,619 

Number missed by Local Census (10.8 per cent of 

the whole group) 54.570 

^ Report of the special school attendance committee of the Provincial Asso- 
ciation of Protestant Teachers of Quebec, 191 8. 

^ The age group from 15 to 16 is made up by taking ^ of the 15 to 20 group, 
and is, for obvious reasons, in each case a little smaller than the actual figures. 
This makes it that much worse for the local census. 



School Finance 59 

Judging from these three census years, one would certainly be 
safe in adding at least lo per cent to the local census of 1915-16. 
This would make the number of children from five to sixteen 

By Local Census 543,873 

Adding 10 per cent 54,387 



598,260 

By the Dominion census of 191 1, there were 328,959 children 
in the province from five to fourteen years of age. Four years 
later, in 1915, the Department of Public Instruction gave the 
total number as 327,611, a decrease of 1,348 in four years,^ not- 
withstanding the fact that the birth rate is the highest in Canada. 

The number enrolled in elementary schools, model schools, and 
academies is 464, 447. ^ Of these, 9,418 were over sixteen, but this 
may be allowed to stand against those under sixteen in universi- 
ties, colleges and special schools. This gives 133,813 children at 
home from school entirely between the ages of five and sixteen. 
Of the whole five-to-sixteen age group 77.63 per cent were re- 
ported in attendance for a longer or shorter time during the year. 
In the province of Quebec, five is the age at which children begin 
school, and of the age group five-to-seven, 99,090 were at school 
and 16,641 not in attendance, as reported by the superintendent. 
This shows that no large number of the 133,813 were young chil- 
dren not yet in attendance. The population of the province in 
1916, as given in the Quebec Statistical Year Book, was 2,309,427. 
The age group five-to-sixteen is thus 25.9 per cent of the whole 
population. 

A report on School Attendance has just been published that 
was prepared by a special committee of the Provincial Associa- 
tion of the Protestant Teachers of Quebec. This committee was 
made up of ten persons, as follows: Irving O. Vincent, W. C. R. 
Anderson, C. A. Adams, and I. Gammell, principals of leading 
high schools throughout the province; Amy Norris, Isabel E. 
Brittain, Elizabeth A. Irwin, prominent teachers of the province; 
Dr. E. I. Rexford, principal of the Diocesan College, Montreal, 
member of the Board of Public Instruction and Protestant secre- 



^ Special Attendance Committee, 1918. 

' This number includes all children in public and independent schools, 
excepting groups excluded on page 61. A provision in the school law requires 
all private and church schools that wish exemption from taxation to report 
their enrollment to the Department of Public Instruction. 



6o School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

tary of education before the appointment of Dr. Parmelee; 
W. O. Rothney, a prominent inspector of schools; and Sinclair 
Laird, dean of the School for Teachers, Macdonald College. I 
give in part the conclusions of this committee. 

"The census which the secretary -treasurers must take each year, under 
article 2768 of the Education Act, of school children is often not carefully 
taken. Your Committee would hardly be so bold as to use these words with- 
out proper assurance. Our authority is that of the Superintendent himself; 
they are a quotation from a circular letter, dated Jan. 22nd, 19 17, to the 
School Commissioners and Trustees. He goes on to say: 'Sometimes the 
figures supplied me by the secretary-treasurers do not coincide with those 
given by the Inspector in his annual report. How can this difference be ex- 
plained seeing that the figures refer to the same locality and are supplied by 
the sanie secretary-treasurer? Moreover it happens that the number of 
children enrolled in the school is larger than that given by the census.' (See 
page 430 of 1916-17 report, English version.) This is not the first complaint 
made of the inaccuracy of the census; in the 1915-16 report, Honorable 
Boucher de la Bruere made a similar complaint. 

"In the Quebec Statistical Year Book for 1917, page 164, we find the figures 
for the school census and enrollment recorded for the different electoral dis- 
tricts; the figures are for the school year 1914-15. Let us examine them in 
some detail. Sherbrooke had 8,958 of school age and 4,893 enrolled. If 
these figures were exact, that was an appalling situation when only 54J per 
cent of the children of school age were enrolled. Either these figures were 
very inexact or else they provide one of the strongest possible cases to show 
the need of an attendance law. But were the figures exact? No census is 
taken in Sherbrooke. Then how were they obtained? Drummondville had 
4,586 children on the census and exactly the same number enrolled. But no 
census is taken in Drummondville and the similarity between the two figures 
suggests that what we are assured happens in other cases, may have happened 
here, that the secretary-treasurer instead of making a proper census merely 
copied the figures for the yearly enrollment as those of the census also. Your 
Committee is assured by the Inspectors that this sometimes happens. One 
inspector states that, to his knowledge, the secretaries do not as a rule make a 
tour from house to house, throughout the municipality. 

"The census figures given in the Year Book for Montreal City were 66,181 
of school age and 59,405 enrolled. Your Committee challenges these figures 
for those of school age; how were they obtained? Your Committee knows 
no census was taken for the city of Montreal. Moreover the ratio between the 
figures is practically the same as that between the enrollment and the census 
for the whole province, namely 89.6 per cent. 

"In 1910-11 more than 134,000 children between 5 and 16 years of age were 
not enrolled. Other considerations would seem to show that in any one year 
between 25 and 30 per cent of the children of school age are not enrolled." 

In order to make fair comparison with other public school 
systems, it is necessary to know (i) how much it costs to main- 



School Finance 6i 

tain the public schools alone for the year, and (2) how many 
pupils are educated in these schools.^ 

TABLE VIII 
Pupils Enrolled in Different Classes of the Quebec Schools 

IN 1915-16 

Pupils Enrolled 

Elementary, Model and High Schools 463,086 

Normal Schools i ,361 

Catholic Classical Colleges 8,128 

Laval University in Quebec and Montreal 2,352 

McGill and Bishops Universities 948 

Technical Schools 406 

Commercial High Schools 46 

Agricultural Colleges 172 

Household Science Schools 6,902 

Night Schools 5.430 

Dressmaking Schools 2,851 

Schools for the Blind 133 

Schools for the Deaf and Dumb 433 

Total 492,248 

Total given in Report 490,71 8 

Twice enrolled i ,530 

Of the 463,086, reported in the first group, the following are 
in independent schools: 

Elementary Schools 5.535 

Model Schools 10,167 

Academies 25,329 



41,0312 

This leaves 422,055 students in schools under commissioners 
and trustees, and 68,663 in all other schools as listed above. 
These figures permit of but one conclusion, namely, that the 
whole sum of $4,105,882, classed as contributions from independ- 
ent subsidized schools, and at least $1,000,000 of the govern- 
ment grant, were used to educate these 68,663 students. This 

^ The school year varies as follows: In Quebec, Manitoba, British Columbia, 
New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, it ends June 30. In Nova Scotia, 
July 31. In Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, December 31. For this 
and many other reasons, it is almost impossible to make comparisons between 
the provinces that are fair to all. It is high time that the Dominion Educa- 
tional Association or other body developed a system for standardizing the 
statistical records. 

2 Educational Statistics, 19 15-16. 



62 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

amounts to $74.36 a student, and is probably not excessive for 
the education given. 

For the education of the other 422,055 pupils, $6,427,947 was 
supplied by the local tax payer, $587,263 by government grants 
direct to school municipalities, $48,000 by the government as 
bonuses to teachers, and $89,000 from the same source for inspec- 
tion of schools. This leaves $158,574 of the government grant 
of $1,882,837, for overhead and other expenses which may rightly 
be charged to the schools under commissioners and trustees. A 
total of $7,310,784 is therefore spent in educating the 422,055 
children in the schools under commissioners and trustees, or 
$17.32 for each child. By combining these figures, the statistical 
reports of the province give the average cost of education per 
student as $25.30. 

Attendance reports for Quebec are not so reliable as one would 
wish. In a province like New Brunswick, where the school funds 
are distributed partly on the grand total days attendance made 
by all the pupils, these figures are very exact and attested to by 
teacher and secretary under oath. In Quebec, the grand total 
days are not collected, the actual number of days the school 
was open is not always reported, and the percentage of those 
enrolled on an average is made up from the reports of inspectors. 
The inspector gets these reports on his semi-annual visit, and 
he thus takes no account of pupils who leave school after his 
visit, nor of those young children who enter in the spring. As a 
large number drop out of school to go to work after his visit, 
and as many little children start school in May, especially in 
rural communities, the percentage as reported is of no value 
whatever. When the report is made at the end of the school 
year, all students enrolled are included, and since the percentage 
has already been figured out and reported by the inspector, the 
impression is given that this percentage applies to the actual 
enrollment.^ In Ontario the percentage is found by dividing 
the aggregate attendance by the legally authorized teaching days. 
The aggregate attendance in Quebec is not known, but the attend- 
ance committee comes to this interesting conclusion "out of 
521,000 children of school age there were in average attendance 
every day the schools were open, only 299,770 or 57.5 per cent of 
the school age population. " 

^ Special Attendance Committee, 19 18. 



School Finance 63 

The elimination from grade to grade in the Quebec schools is 
very great, as the following tables show: 

TABLE IX 

Elimination from School from Year to Year 

Catholic — (Total 405,348) 

Numbers in each grade Percentage of whole registered 

Grade I to VIII in each grade 

1st year 155.378 383 

2nd year 97,947 24.0 

3rd year 75,241 18.5 

4th year 44,045 10.8 

5th year 17,468 4 . 2 

6th year 8,972 2 . 2 

7th year 4,180 i .0 

8th year 2,117 50 



405,348 100% 

Protestant — (Total 56,659) 

Numbers in each grade Percentage of whole registered 

Grade I to VIII in each grade 

1st year 14,756 26.2 

2nd year 8,843 i5-6 

3rd year 8,377 14.8 

4th year 8,142 14 . 3 

5th year . .' 6,464 1 1 . 4 

6th year 4,610 8 . i 

7th year 3,756 6 . 6 

8th year 1,711 3.0 



56,659 100% 1 

This elimination is shown graphically in Fig. 2 (page 64). 



1 In Catholic schools secondary education is carried on in the twenty-one 
classical colleges and in the convents. The French public schools give only an 
eight-year course. In Educational Statistics, 19 15-16, a report prepared by 
the Bureau of Statistics for Quebec, it is stated that there is a considerable 
decrease in school attendance from one year to the other in Catholic primary 
schools, and that the decrease among Protestants appears less because of the 
eleven years of their course. The percentages given for each group of schools 
show that the advantage is with the Protestants. 



64 



School Funds in the Province of Quebec 







Grades I II III IV T TZ VII VIII 

Fig. 2. Graphic Representation of Table IX. 

TABLE X 
Comparison of Elimination in Schools of Quebec with Other Provin- 
ces AND States on the Basis of those Registered in Each Grade 



Grades 



II 



III 



IV 



V 



VI VII VIII 



Quebec, Catholic 

Quebec, Protes- 
tant 

Manitoba 

New Brunswick 

Nova Scotia . . . 

United States. . 

North Atlantic 
States 

North Central 
States 

South Atlantic 
States 

Western States . . 



38.3% 

26.2 
25 
24 
30.2 

23 -5 

17.7 

20.4 

28.9 
23.8 



24 % 

15-6 
14 
17 
13 

14.8 

14.4 

137 

17.7 
13-7 



18.5% 

14.8 

14 

17.7 
12. 1 
14 

134 

13-3 

155 
12.9 



10.8% 

143 
13 
17 
12. 1 

13-3 

13 

131 

13-6 
12.2 



4-2% 



II. 4 
10 

137 
II 
II .2 

12 

II. 6 

9-9 
II 



2.2% 

8.1 
10 
4-4 
9-4 
9.2 

10.9 

10.5 

71 
9.8 



% 



6.6 

7 

3-3 

6.7 

7.6 

9-9 



5 
8.6 



.5%* 

3 

4-5 

2.7 

5-3 
6.4 

8.5 

8.4 

2 
7.9» 



^ It is hard to be sure in every instance whether the percentage is of the whole 
enrollment of the public schools, or of grades I to VIII inclusive. In Quebec, 



School Finance 




Fig. 3. Comparative Elimination in the Schools of Protestant Quebec, Cath- 
olic Quebec, New Brunswick and the North Atlantic States. 

These are very striking figures and before commenting on them 
I shall give the percentages of the common school population 
found in each grade for some other provinces of Canada and 
different divisions of the United States and shall place them beside 
the percentage of Quebec just given. 

Perhaps the extent of this elimination can be more clearly seen 
by following one group on through the grades. In 1909-10 
there were 84,195 pupils in grade two in all kinds of Catholic 
schools. This may be taken as about the number that began 
their school life in 1908-09. The tabular statement (page 66) 
shows how this group dwindled during the next seven years. 
No account is taken of retardation. 

There were in attendance, in 1915-16, in Catholic schools 
405^348 children and apparently there were 349,956 children 



both Catholic and Protestant, the percentages are of the I to VIII groups only. 
Even when the others are added, as found in the classical colleges and high 
schools, the percentages vary so slightly as to be neglible. 

2 The figures for the States given, are taken from the Report of the Commis- 
sioner of Education, Vol. II, 1917 (Washington, D. C). 



66 



School Funds in the Province of Quebec 



TABLE XI 
Children in Catholic Schools 



Grade 


Year 


Number at 
School 


Number 
Eliminated 
from each 

Grade 


Per cent of 
Grade II 
remaining 
at School 


Grade II 


1909-10 
1910-11 
1911-12 
1912-13 
1913-14 

1914-15 
1915-16 


84,195 
63,905 
34,628 

14,771 
7,846 

3,778 
2,117 


20,290 
29,277 
18,857 

6,925 
4,068 
1,661 


100 


" III 


72.4 

41. 1 

175 

9-3 

4-5 

2.5 


" IV 


" V 


" VI 


" VII 

" VIII 



who had dropped out, but should have been in grades three to 
eight. But these figures are far in excess of the children in the 
province. Where is the explanation to be found? Either the 
figures as published by the department are incorrect, or there is 
retardation on a scale seldom met with. A study of the ages of 
students at school leads to the conclusion that, on the average, 
almost two years are taken to cover one year of the Catholic 
school course. When it is remembered that the average school 
year is about eight months, that there are many holidays, and 
that the course is heavily loaded with memory work, part of it of 
a religious nature, this does not seem surprising. 

In a study of this question, the Special Attendance Committee, 
before quoted, came to the conclusion that Quebec has only 
seventy-five per cent of her proportion of children in grade five, 
as compared with the rest of Canada; about fifty-five per cent 
in grade six, forty-five per cent in grade seven, and thirty-five 
per cent in grade eight. 

Bulletin XIX of the Canadian Census, 191 1, gives the following 
figures for the different provinces, of children from ten to fourteen 
years of age. (Page 67). 

Number of Children per Thousand of Population 

Not all the provinces of Canada have the same number of 
children per thousand of population. The Maritime provinces 
and Ontario have lost a good many of their young men by emigra- 



School Finance 



67 



TABLE XII 

Number of Children from 10 to 14 Years of Age in Certain Provinces 



Nova 
Scotia 



New 
Brunswick 



Quebec 



Ontario 



Prince 
Edward Island 



School Population. . . . 

At School 

Percentages at School 



51,746 

43,199 

83.5 



38,239 

31,412 

82.2 



222 172 

175,038 

78.8 



233,018 

195,517 

839 



10,518 
9,120 
86.5 



tion. Most of these have gone to the West. This would be ex- 
pected to make a larger percentage of children in the home popu- 
lation of these provinces. The Western provinces, on the other 
hand, have received numbers of men from almost all civilized 
countries, and have a smaller percentage of children. 

The province of Quebec, outside of the cities of Montreal and 
Quebec, has received few by immigration, and has not lost 
heavily by emigration. I give below the numbers of children of 
school age, per thousand of population, for each of the provinces. 
These figures are for the last census year. 

TABLE XIII 
Children of School Age, per iooo of Population, for Each Province 





Population 


5 to 14 Years 


5 to IQ Years 


-^ § 


Provinces 


Number 


Per 

IOOO 

of 
Pop. 


Number 


Per 

IOOO 

of 
Pop. 


Number Enrc 
School per 
Population 


Quebec 

Ontario . . .' 


2,003,232 
2,523,274 
492,338 
351,889 
455,614 
492,432 
374,663 
392,480 
93,728 


479,007 
476,251 
107,417 
79,486 
93,544 
95,896 
71,945 
54,766 
20,682 


234 
188 
218 
223 
205 

195 
192 

139 
220 


679,205 
715,696 
157,540 
116,040 

136,317 

136,554 

102,936 

82,033 

31,263 


334 
323 
320 

329 
298 

277 
274 
209 

333 


211 

182 


Nova Scotia 

New Brunswick 

Manitoba 


209 
179 
177 

143 
164 
109 

185 


Saskatchewan 

Alberta 

British Columbia . . . 
Prince Ed. Island . . . 



68 



School Funds in the Province of Quebec 



For the sake of comparison, the same data for a group of 
American states are given below: 

TABLE XIV 

Children of School Age, per iooo of Population, for Several 

Divisions of United States 







5 to 14 Years 


6 to 20 Years 






Population 
IQ16 


1916 




1916 


1;^ N 


Division 


Number 


Per 

IOOO 

of 
Pop. 


Number 


Per 

IOOO 

of 
Pop. 


1916 Numbet 

in School pe 

Population 


United States . . 


102,017,312 


20,839,313 


204 


30,735,240 


301.3 


199-5 


North Atlantic 














Division 


28,900,053 


5,230,910 


181 


7,915,725 


273 -9 


168.9 


North Central . . 


32,123,880 


6,296,280 


196 


4,470,120 


294.8 


197-5 


South Central . . 


13,295.995 


3,177,743 


239 


4,513,990 


339-5 


231.6 


South Atlantic . . 


19,152,425 


4,673,192 


244 


6,624,824 


345-9 


232 6 


Western 


8,544,959 


1,461,188 


171 


2,210,581 


258-7 


186. 4I 



In the United States, the Southern states alone have more 
children per thousand of population than the province of Quebec. 
Of all the Canadian provinces, Quebec has the largest percentage 
of children to educate. British Columbia with 209 per thousand 
of population from 5 to 19 years, and Quebec with 334, present 
the two extremes. The difference in the sacrifice required on 
account of the inequality in the nature of the population, will 
be taken up in the next section. 

A study of the vital statistics of the province of Quebec shows 

from another viewpoint how much greater effort must be made in 

Quebec than in many other states, to educate equally well all 

children. The average birth rate in Quebec for the five years 

ending in 191 5, was 373 per ten thousand, and the death rate was 

168 per ten thousand. This gave an excess of births over deaths 

of 205 per ten thousand .^ The figures for Ontario during the 

same period are births, 237; deaths, 125; excess, 112. The 

following table shows the birth rate in Quebec as compared with 

that of other places. 

'^Report of Commissioner of Education, Vol. 11,1917. 
2 Quebec Statistical Year Book, 19 17. 



School Finance 



69 



TABLE XV 
Comparison of Birth and Death Rates in Provinces (1912) 



Provinces 



Births per 
10,000 

of Population 



Deaths per 

10,000 

of Population 



Excess of Births 
over Deaths per 
10,000 of Pop. 



Quebec 

Ontario 

Nova Scotia .... 

Manitoba 

British Columbia 

Alberta 

Saskatchewan . . 



371 
229 

255 
298 
188 
236 
202 



162 
125 
143 
125 
loi 

97 
62 



209 
104 
112 
173 
87 
139 
140^ 



TABLE XVI 

Same Facts for Certain States, as in Table XV and for 

Foreign Countries 



States, iQiS 



Births per 


Deaths per 


Excess of Births 


10,000 


10,000 


over Deaths per 


of Population 


of Population 


10,000 of Pop. 


267 


149 


118 


211 


156 


55 


254 


145 


109 


267 


134 


133 


245 


Id 


144 


227 


161 


66 


240 


146 


94 


260 


138 


122 


231 


148 


83 


216 


147 


69 


160 


175 


-15 


240 


138 


102 


283 


156 


127 


314 


206 


108 


326 


183 


143 


326 


229 


97 


282 


112 


170 


261 


88 


173 



Connecticut 

Maine 

Massachusetts 

Michigan 

Minnesota 

New Hampshire .... 

New York 

Pennsylvania 

Rhode Island 

Vermont 

Countries, igi2 

France 

England and Wales . 

Germany 

Austria 

Italy 

Spain 

Australia 

New Zealand 



Quebec has thus the highest birth rate, and the greatest 

natural growth in population of any of the places given. 

^ Figures for Prince Edward Island were not given out for this year and for 
New Brunswick no records have been kept. 



70 



School Funds in the Province of Quebec 



The population of the Canadian provinces in 1915, as esti- 
mated, is as follows: 

TABLE XVII 
Population of Canadian Provinces, 19 15 



Provinces 



Population 



Number of Pupils 
out of every 1,000 of 
Population 



Quebec 

Ontario 

Nova Scotia 

New Brunswick 

Manitoba 

Saskatchewan 

Alberta 

British Columbia . . . , 
Prince Edward Island 



,300,000 


204 


,700,000 


188 


510,000 


210 


360,000 


185 


550,000 


183 


645,000 


185 


490,000 


198 


441 ,000 


137 


93.500 


196 



Figures for Certain States in 1914-15^ 



States 


Number of Pupils out 

of every 1,000 of 

Population 


Maine 


192 
161 


Massachusetts 


New York 


156 
180 


New Jersey 


Wisconsin 


183 
181 


Vermont 


California 


179 
106 


United States 


^.. , „ 1 Arkansas 


261 


Highest States <..... . 

1 Mississippi 


259 

12'? 


^ _ [ Nevada 


Lowest States ( R^ode Island 


144 





Report of Commissioner of Education, Vol. II, 19 17. 



School Finance 



71 



The assessed value per head of population for the Canadian 
Provinces and for certain American States is as follows: 

TABLE XVIII 

Assessed Valuation of Taxable Property in Canadian Provinces 



Provinces 



A ssessed Valuation of 
Taxable Property 



Valuation 

per Head 

of Population 



Valuation for 

Each Child 

at School 



Ontario 

Quebec 

Nova Scotia 

New Brunswick 

Manitoba 

Saskatchewan 

Alberta 

British Columbia 

Prince Edward Island "■ 



1916 

1915 
1914 
1916 
1915 
1915 
1915 
1916 



1,974,625,085 
1,302,331,334 
128,190,332 
110,847,317 
547,698,221 
814,724,431 
516,615,294 
653.501,890 



731 
566 

251 

307 

995 
1,054 
1,258.48 
1,481.86 



3-909-57 
2,765-97 
1,189.50 
1,666.73 

5,424-74 

6,830.40 

5,310.27 

10,823.62 



Figures for Certain States, 19 12 



States 


Year 


Valuation per Head 
of Population 


Maine 


1912 


1 ,420 . 00 
1 ,470 . 00 
1,805.00 
2,626.00 


Vermont 


Massachusetts 


New York 


New Jersey 


2,140.00 
1,875.00 
3,284.00 


Wisconsin 


California 





These figures indicate that the provinces of eastern Canada 
are relatively poor as compared with western Canada, and that 
taxable wealth even in western Canada is considerably below 
that in the states given. This is probably true, but as the valua- 
tion of taxable property varies widely in each state and province, 
these figures cannot be taken as an exact measure of wealth. 

If valuation is the same in Nova Scotia and British Columbia, 
there is about nine times as much property to back up a young 
British Columbian as stands back of the Nova Scotia child. 



1 Not available. 



CHAPTER III 
DISTRIBUTION OF THE LOAD 

In the province of Quebec all local taxes for school purposes are 
raised by a levy on the real estate of the municipalities and by 
means of a rate on those who have children of school age. There 
are in all 1,671 school municipalities; of these, I have worked out 
the distribution of the tax rate for 1,637. In order to discover 
whether there was any great difference between the rates in 
Protestant and Catholic schools or between those under com- 
missioners and trustees, I have given the distribution of the 
school tax in five different tables, viz., for Catholic schools under 
commissioners, and for Catholic dissentient schools ; for Protestant 
schools under commissioners, and for Protestant dissentient 
schools; and for all classes of schools together. Then I have 
added the regular tax, and the special tax levied in 1915-16, and 
given a distribution for all school purposes. 

There are other distribution tables, giving the school rates or 
fees levied by trustees and commissioners, for elementary, model, 
and high schools; a table giving the distribution of the general 
tax by municipalities. The number of regular municipalities is 
1,241, and of these the rates of 1,115 are given in the table. 

The province of Ontario most nearly approaches Quebec in 
area, position, natural resources, and wealth. For the sake of 
comparison there are then given distribution tables showing the 
rate of taxation for school and general purposes in the different 
Ontario municipalities. 

There are also given the school tax in the cities of Quebec and 
of Ontario, the school and whole tax, and the percentage the school 
tax is of the whole tax levied in cities and towns of Ontario, 
Quebec, and Massachusetts. Available data in regard to the 
rates of school and other taxes levied in some other Canadian 
provinces are also presented. 

Finally, a comparison is made between different counties and 
municipalities in the same county, especially with the aim of 
discovering inequalities in tax burden between rural and urban 
sections. 

72 



Distribution of the Load 



73 



TABLE XIX 

Distribution of Local or Municipal Tax Rates for Schools in Quebec 

AND Ontario, 1915-16 

SPECIAL TAX for QUEBEC INCLUDED 



Quebec — 1,648 


Municipalities^ 


Ontario — 8oQ Municipalities^ 


Number of Mills 


Number of 


Number of Mills 


Number of 




on the Dollar 


Municipalities 


on the Dollar 


Municipalities 




0- .9 


II 


0- .9 


8 




I- I 


•9 


38 


I- I 


•9 


7 




2- 2 


•9 


121 


2- 2 


•9 


12 




3- 3 


•9 


143 


3- 3 


9 


31 




4- 4 


•9 


183 


4- 4 


9 


74 




5- 5 


■9 


210 


5- 5 


9 


78 




6- 6 


9 


143 


6- 6 


9 


83 




7- 7 


9 


156 


7- 7 


9 


68 




8- 8 


9 


83 


8- 8 


9 


59 




9- 9 


9 


61 


9- 9 


9 


66 




10-10 


9 


124 


lO-IO 


9 


53 




ii-ii 


9 


35 


II-II 


9 


59 




12-12 


9 


72 


12-12 


9 


50 




13-13 


9 


16 


13-13 


9 


26 




14-14 


9 


16 


14-14 


9 


25 




15-15 


9 


50 


15-15 


9 


24 




16-16 


9 


17 


16-16 


9 


16 




17-17 


9 


19 


17-17 


9 


15 




18-18 


9 


14 


18-18 


9 


9 




19-19 


9 


9 


19-19 


9 


8 




20-20 


9 


32 


20-20 


9 


8 




21-21 


9 


3 


21-21 


9 


8 




22-22 


9 


5 


22-22 


9 


5 




23-23 


9 


8 


23-23 


9 


4 




24-24 


9 


3 


24-24 


9 


5 




25-25 


9 


15 


25-25 


9 


I 




26-26 


9 


2 


26-26 


9 


I 




27-27 


9 


5 


27-27 


9 


4 




28-28 


9 


3 


32-32 


9 


I 




29-29 


9 


3 








30-30 


9 


12 








31-31 


9 


I 




Mean 9.53 
Mode 6.5 




32-32 


9 







Median 8.74 




33-33 


9 


4 








34-34 


9 


4 








35-35 


9 


I 








36-36 


9 


2 








37-37 


9 


I 








38-38 


9 











39-39 


9 


2 








40-40. 


9 


3 








41-50. 


9 


6 








51-60. 


9 


6 








61-70. 


9 


4 








71-85- 


9 


2 










Mean 8.15 










Mode 5.5 
Median 6.82 
Lower Q. 4.54 
Upper Q. 10.76 









^ The rates on which these tables are based are taken from the Quebec Finan- 
cial Report of School Corporations, and the Ontario Municipal Statistics. 



74 



School Funds in the Province of Quebec 



Table XIX shows the distribution of the municipal tax for all 
school purposes for the whole province of Quebec and the prov- 
ince of Ontario. The average tax for Quebec is 1.38 mills less 
than for Ontario, the mode i. mill less, and the median 1.92 
mills less.^ 




««{« n^ia«c.o»Ot-i 



Fig. 4. Distribution of the School Tax in Quebec, Ontario and Massa- 
chusetts. 

A glance at the chart shows that a much larger proportion of 
the rates in Quebec are low at 2.5 mills and 3.5 mills than in 
Ontario, and that many places have rates higher than any known 
in Ontario. The curve for Ontario is more uniform, though in 
both provinces a number of districts have exceedingly high rates. 
Both curves show a lack of control, though that for Quebec 
is much more erratic than that for Ontario. 

Considering the Quebec curve alone, one is struck by the large 
number of very high rates. The variation is from one half of 
one mill, on the one side, to seventy mills on the other, a differ- 
ence of 14,000 per cent. The lower quartile is 4.54, and the upper 

^ The actual mean for Ontario is sHghtly lower than that in Table XIX, 
but not more than i/io of a mill. This is because about 130 municipalities 
exempt less property for school than for general purposes, and this was not 
considered in working out the rates. 



Distribution of the Load 



75 



quartile is 10.76. As half the variates lie within these points, it 

is seen that of the half of the cases most alike, the highest is 134 

per cent above the lowest. Obviously also, one quarter of all 

the municipalities have a rate below the lower quartile, 4.54 

mills, and the other quarter a rate above the upper quartile, 

10.76 mills. 

TABLE XX 

Distribution OF Regular School Tax for All Municipalities in Quebec, 
1915-16, AND IN Massachusetts, 1911-12 

SPECIAL TAX FOR QUEBEC NOT INCLUDED 



Quebec — 1,637 Municipalities 


Massachusetts — 353 Municipalities 


Number of Mills 


Number of 


Number of Mills 


Number of 


on the Dollar 


Municipalities 


on the Dollar 


Municipalities 


0- .9 


31 


0- .9 


2 


I- I 


9 


71 


I- I 


9 


5 


2- 2 


9 


187 


2- 2 


9 


20 


3- 3 


9 


235 


3- 3 


9 


50 


4- 4 


9 


254 


4- 4 


9 


64 


5- 5 


9 


149 


5- 5 


9 


73 


6- 6 


9 


121 


6- 6 


9 


77 


7- 7 


9 


176 


7- 7 


9 


40 


8- 8 


9 


52 


8- 8 


9 


16 


9- 9 


9 


149 


9- 9 


9 


5 


10-10 


9 


21 






ii-ii 


9 


25 






12-12 


9 


56 






13-13 


9 


12 


13-13-9 


I 


14-14 


9 


39 






15-15 


9 


7 






16-16 


9 


4 






17-17 


9 


4 






18-18 


9 








19-19 


9 


18 






20-20 


9 


2 






21-21 


9 


I 






22-22 


9 


6 






23-23 


9 









24-24 


9 


6 






25-25 


9 








26-26 


9 








29-29 


9 


7 






32-32 


9 


I 






40 and over 


3 








Mean 6.57 




Mean 5.4 


• 


Mode 4.5 




Mode 6.5 




Median 5.27 




Median 5.5 




Lower Q. 3.51 




Av. Dev. 1.32 






Upper Q. 8.07 









76 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

Table XX shows the frequency distribution of rates for school 
purposes in Quebec and Massachusetts. The rates for Quebec 
in this instance do not include the special tax for schools, and 
thus do not show such great extremes as Table XIX. 

In Quebec the mean is 1.17 mills higher than in Massachu- 
setts, the mode is 2 mills higher in Massachusetts than in Quebec, 
and the median is a small decimal higher in Massachusetts. The 
high mode in Massachusetts shows that a large number of the 
towns have a comparatively high rate; a high rate is the fashion, 
so to speak, while the low mode in Quebec has just the opposite 
significance. The medians are about the same, yet the average 
is considerably higher in Quebec. This skewness in the Quebec 
curve can only be accounted for by a large number of munici- 
palities with very low rates. 

Considering Quebec alone, one comes to the same conclusions 
as in the study of the last table. The lower quartile is 3.51, and 
the upper quartile 8.07. That is, the last variate in the central 
group is 130 per cent greater than the first variate in the same 
group. Or, if we think of the median as dividing the variates 
into two separate series, and consider the quartiles as the medians 
of these, it becomes clear that half the municipalities are paying 
about two and a third times more school taxes on the valuation 
of their property than are the other half. 

If one looks at the two curves in Fig. 4, one readily sees how 
regular the Massachusetts curve is compared with that for Que- 
bec. Not only is the Quebec curve erratic, but it shows wide 
dispersion and a high degree of skewness. This can only mean 
one thing, namely, no adequate method of controlling the rate. 

If a curve is studied showing the number of cases of diph- 
theria that occurred in a city through a series of years before the 
use of antitoxin, the greatest irregularity will be noticed; the 
curve will be something like the Quebec school tax distribution. 
A curve for the same city since the use of antitoxin will be found 
approaching the straight line. Quebec has not yet found her 
antitoxin, as these erratic curves show. 

Although Massachusetts shows no such extremes as Quebec, 
the educational leaders in that state consider the variation and 
dispersion altogether too great, and a special report of the Board 
of Education, published in 191 5 and submitted to the legislature, 
strongly urges the levying of a state mill tax to aid in bringing 



Distribution of the Load 77 

about an equalization. This report states: "Expenditures for 
school support per one thousand dollars of valuation show that a 
local tax rate for school purposes of six dollars or even eight 
dollars is not uncommon. On the other hand, many of the more 
wealthy communities in the commonwealth are able to support 
excellent schools by a tax of four dollars or less." As far as the 
rates named are concerned, Table XX shows the accuracy of this 
statement. What would the Board of Education of Massa- 
chusetts say were it confronted with the facts revealed by the 
Quebec curves in Tables XIX and XX? They could then say 
that a large number of the communities supported their schools 
on a tax of two and three dollars on a thousand dollars of valua- 
tion, many others taxed themselves ten, twelve, fifteen and 
twenty dollars, while twenty-one municipalities taxed themselves 
between forty and seventy dollars on the thousand. 

Table XXI with the accompanying curves in Fig. 5 gives the 
general municipal taxes for Quebec and Ontario and the fre- 
quency distribution of each. The difference in the general 
rates for the two provinces is very great, the mean for Ontario 
being more than twice that for Quebec. In Ontario only fourteen 
places out of 835 have a tax below five mills, while in Quebec 513 
places out of 1,115 have less than a five mill tax. 

A glance at the figure shows that there is a good deal of dis- 
persion and skewness in both, but the curve for Ontario is much 
more regular. 

It has already been shown that Quebec pays a lower average 
rate of school tax than Ontario. This table reveals the fact that 
general municipal taxes on the average are considerably less than 
one half what they are in Ontario, and that less than twenty of 
the municipalities in Ontario pay as low a general tax as half the 
municipalities in Quebec. Just twenty in Ontario pay less than 
six mills, while in Quebec six hundred and forty-three pay less 
than six mills. 



78 



School Funds in the Province of Quebec 



TABLE XXI 

Distribution of Tax Rates for Other than School Purposes for Quebec 
AND Ontario, 1915-16 



Quebec — 1,115 Municipalities 


Ontario — 835 Municipalities 


Number of Mills 


Number of 


Number of Mills 


Number of 




on the Dollar 


Municipalities 


on the Dollar 


Municipalities 




0- .9 


40 


0- .9 


6 




I- 1.9 


116 


I- 1.9 


4 




2- 2.9 


129 


2-2.9 


4 




3- 3-9 


118 


3- 3-9 







4- 4-9 


110 


4- 4-9 







5- 5-9 


130 


5- 5-9 


6 




6- 6.9 


55 


6- 6.9 


15 




7- 7-9 


80 


7- 7-9 


26 




8- 8.9 


39 


8- 8.9 


45 




9- 9 9 


38 


9- 9.9 


55 




10-10.9 


102 


10-10.9 


70 




ii-ii .9 


15 


II-II .9 


72 




12-12. 9 


36 


12-12. 9 


53 




13-13 -9 


16 


13-13 -9 


56 




14-14. 9 


11 


14-14. 9 


55 




15-15-9 


38 


15-15-9 


49 




16-16. 9 


I 


16-16. 9 


41 




17-17 -9 


16 


17-17. 9 


35 




18-18. 9 


9 


18-18. 9 


26 




19-19.9 


3 


19-19.9 


34 




20-20 . 9 


II 


20-20 . 9 


24 




21-21 .9 


2 


21-21 .9 


35 




22-22.9 


I 


22-22.9 


29 




23-23.9 





23-23.9 


22 




24-24.9 





24-24.9 


14 




25-25-9 


3 


25-25 -9 


16 




30-30.9 


I 


26-26 . 9 


8 




40-40 . 9 


2 


27-27.9 


10 




80-80.9 


I 

Mean 6.75 


28-28.9 
29-29.9 

30-30.9 
33-33-9 
39-39-9 
40-50.9 


7 
6 

3 
I 

4 
4 

Mean 15 






Mode 5.5 




Mode II 


5 




Median 5.34 




Median 14 


2 



Distribution of the Load 



79 




Fig. 5. Distribution of General Municipal Taxes for Quebec and Ontario. 



8o 



School Funds in the Province of Quebec 



TABLE XXII 

Distribution of the Rates of Taxation in Non-Dissentient Protestant 
AND Catholic School Municipalities, 191 5-16 



J72 Protestant Municipalities 


1, 23 3 Catholic Municipalities 


Number of Mills 


Number of 


Number of Mills 


Number of 


on the Dollar 


Municipalities 


on the Dollar 


Municipalities 


0- .9 


3 


0- .9 


21 


I- I 


9 


2 


I- 1.9 


61 


2- 2 


9 


6 


2-2.9 


164 


3- 3 


9 


19 


3- 3-9 


194 


4- 4 


9 


21 


4- 4.9 


188 


5- 5 


9 


22 


5- 5-9 


108 


6- 6 


9 


15 


6- 6.9 


85 


7- 7 


9 


24 


7- 7-9 


133 


8- 8 


9 


II 


8- 8.9 


38 


9- 9 


9 


21 


9- 9.9 


109 


10-10 


9 


I 


10-10.9 


15 


ii-ii 


9 


3 


II-II .9 


17 


12-12 


9 


7 


12-12. 9 


42 


13-13 


9 


2 


13-13-9 


9 


14-14 


9 


7 


14-14. 9 


27 


15-15 


9 


2 


15-15-9 


3 


16-16 


9 


2 


16-16. 9 


2 


17-17 


9 


I 


17-179 


2 


18-18 


9 





18-18. 9 


12 


19-19. 9 


2 


19-19. 9 


2 


30-30.9 


I 


20-20 . 9 


I 




— 


21-21 .9 


5 




172 


22-22 .9 


6 






23-23.9 


6 






24-24.9 


I 






25-25 -9 


2 
1,253 




Mean 7.45 




Mean 5.94 




Mode 7 


5 




Mode 3 


5 




Median 6 


09 




Median 5 


09 




Av. Dev. 3 


01 




Av. Dev. 3 


01 




Coef . of Disp. 4 


01 




Coef. of Disp. 


5 




Upper Q. 9 


57 




Upper Q. 7 


8 




Lower Q. 4 . 62 




Lower Q. 3 


34 



Distribution of the Load 



8i 



TABLE XXIII 

Distribution of the Rates of Taxation in Catholic and Protestant 
Dissentient School Municipalities, 1915-16 



15s Protestant 


Municipalities 


57 Catholic 


Municipalities 




Number of Mills 


Number of 


Number of Mills 


Number of 


on the Dollar 


Municipalities 


on the Dollar 


Municipalities 


0- .9 


5 


0- .9 


2 




I- I 


9 


6 


I- I 


9 


2 




2- 2 


9 


15 


2- 2 


9 


2 




3- 3 


9 


20 


3- 3 


9 


2 




4- 4 


9 


33 


4- 4 


9 


12 




5- 5 


9 


17 


5- 5 


9 


2 




6- 6 


9 


14 


6- 6 


9 


7 




7- 7 


9 


II 


7- 7 


9 


8 




8- 8 


9 


2 


8- 8 


9 


I 




9- 9 


9 


10 


9- 9 


9 


9 




10-10 


9 


3 


10-10 


9 


2 




ii-ii 


9 


3 


II-II 


9 


2 




12-12 


9 


5 


12-12 


9 


2 




13-13 


9 


I 


13-13 


9 


2 




14-14 


9 


3 


14-14 


9 


I 




15-15 


9 


I 


15-15 


9 


I 




17-17 


9 


I 








19-19 


9 


3 




57 




22-22 


9 


I 








40-40 


9 


I 










155 










Mean 6 . 13 




Mean 


713 




Mode 4.5 




Mode 


4-5 




Median 4 96 




Median 


6.8 




Upper 




Upper 






Quartile 7.5 




Quartile 


9-5 




Lower 




Lower 






Quartile 3 . 8 




Quartile 


4-5 




Average 




Average 






Deviation 5 . 




Deviation 


2.8 




CoeflEcient of 




Coefficient of 






, 


Dispersion .856 






Dispersion 


.402 



82 



School Funds in the Province of Quebec 



The dual system of schools In Quebec makes it possible to 
compare rates of the four classes of school municipalities, namely, 
the Catholic schools under commissioners, the Protestant schools 
under commissioners, the Catholic dissentient schools, and the 
Protestant dissentient schools. Tables XXII and XXIII give 
the distribution of the four groups, and enable a study to be 
made of the rates within each group and between the groups. 




67 Catholic Ciaeentlent 
Mean 7.13 
Median 5.8 



156 ProteBtaut Dleeentient 
Mean 6.13 
Uedi^ 4.96 



i12 Proteetant Non-Dissentient 
Heono 7.46 
Veilm 6.09 



Fig. 6. Distribution of the School Tax in the Four Classes of School 
Municipalities of Quebec, 

A study of the four curves, as in Fig. 6, shows a remarkable 
similarity. In none of them are the modes well defined, but their 
great distance from the means indicates a high degree of skewness. 
In this study the dispersion is of particular interest since it brings 
out the unequal distribution of the tax load. I have worked out 



Distribution of the Load 83 

the average deviation from the mean and the coefficient of dis- 
persion according to the following formula given by King: 

_^_ S(M-a) 

V 

Where A equals the average deviation, S, the frequency groups, 
H, the different tax rates, of which there are v in all, and a, 
the mean. 

The coefficient of dispersion then equals 

2(/x — a) 
va 

The^average deviation and coefficients for the four groups are 
as follows: 

A verage Coefficient 

Dev. of Disp. 

Catholic dissentient 5.5 mills . 856 

Protestant dissentient 2.8 . 402 

Catholic non -dissentient 3 . .401 

Protestant non-dissentient 3.01 .5 

For Massachusetts i .32 .24 

In all the Quebec cases the dispersion is great, but it is highest 
among Catholic dissentient schools. 
The means and medians are as follows: 

Mean Median 

Catholic dissentient 7-13 6.8 

Protestant dissentient 6.13 4-96 

Catholic non-dissentient 5-94 5 09 

Protestant non-dissentient 7-45 6 . 09 

Here the Catholic municipalities have considerably the highest 
averages among dissentient groups and the Protestant among 
the non-dissentient. 

Summarizing, it may be stated that the Catholic distribution 
tables show the highest averages, and greatest dispersion among 
the dissentient groups, and the Protestant the highest averages, 
but least dispersion among the non-dissentient groups. As 
compared with the Quebec groups, the dispersion and deviation 
in Massachusetts seem very slight. 



84 



School Funds in the Province of Quebec 



By using the quartiles as a measure of dispersion, the following 
facts are brought out: 

TABLE XXIV 



One Half the 
Variates 
Between 



One Quarter of 

the Variates 

Below 



One Quarter of 

the Variates 

Above 



Protestant dissentient 

Catholic dissentient 

Protestant non-dissentient . 

Catholic non-dissentient . . . 

All Quebec including spe- 
cial tax 

All Quebec without special 
tax 



Mills 
3.8 and 7.5 
4.5 and 9.5 
4.62 and 9.57 
3.34 and 7.8 

4.54 and 10.76 

3.51 and 8.07 



Mills 
3.8 

4-5 
4.62 

3-34 
4-54 
351 



Mills 
7-5 
9-5 
9-57 
7.8 

10.76 

8.07 



I have worked out the school tax, the whole tax, and the per- 
centage the school tax is of the whole tax in certain cities and 
towns of Quebec, Ontario, and Massachusetts. The Massachu- 
setts figures include towns of a population of 5,000 and over, and 
are taken from the last general census. The figures for Quebec 
and Ontario are taken from Municipal Statistics, 191 7, a publica- 
tion by Wood, Gundy and Company of Toronto. ^ 

As would be expected from the very low general tax in Quebec, 
this province uses the highest percentage of her ad valorem taxes 
for education. As already shown, this is not because more is 
spent for education, but because less is spent for other purposes. 
The whole ad valorem tax is almost twice as great in Ontario as 
in Quebec, while Massachusetts occupies a middle position. Also 
in school taxes alone Ontario stands in advance of the other two. 

In Quebec the cities have a mean considerably below that for 
the whole province, and no city has an excessive rate. The 
relation of these figures to the problem of valuation is taken up 
in the latter part of this chapter. 

A study of the tables will show that the high percentage of 
Quebec is due to the relatively low general tax, and the low per- 
centage of British Columbia to the relatively low school tax. 

Prince Edward Island and British Columbia derive a larger 
percentage of their school revenues from provincial grants than 
any of the other provinces. 

1 See note page 86 



Distribution of the Load 

TABLE XXV 

Averages Taken from the Accompanying Tables'- 



85 



Description 



Mean 



Mode 



Median 



Quebec 

Catholic dissentient schools 

Protestant dissentient schools 

Catholic non-dissentient schools 

Protestant non-dissentient schools 

All school municipalities, with special tax 

All school municipalities, without special tax 

Citie&'and towns, schools 

Cities, schools 

General tax, all municipalities 

General tax, towns and villages 

General tax, cities 

Ontario 

School tax, all municipalities 

General tax, all municipalities 

School tax, cities and towns 

School tax, cities 

General tax, cities 

Nova Scotia, school tax, certain places .... 

Nova Scotia, school tax, Cumberland 
County 

New Brunswick, school tax, certain places. 

Prince Edward Island, school tax 

Manitoba school tax, certain places 

Saskatchewan school tax, certain places . . . 

Alberta school tax, certain places 

British Columbia school tax, certain places . 

Massachusetts school tax 

Massachusetts school tax in cities and towns 



7 


13 


4 


5 


6 


6 


13 


4 


5 


4 


5 


94 


3 


5 


5 


7 


45 


7 


5 


6 


8 


15 


5 


5 


6 


6 


57 


4 


5 


5 


6 


32 


5 


5 


6 


4 


85 


5 


5 


5 


6 


75 


5 


5 


5 


8 


32 


10 


5 


8 


10 


5 


10 


5 


10. 


9 


53 


6 


5 


8. 


15 





II 


5 


14- 


9 


5 


9 


5 


9- 


8 


31 


9 


5 


9- 


18 


52 


17 


5 


17- 


7 


56 


6 


5 


7- 


14 


9 


12 


9 


12. 


6 


65 


5 


5 


5- 


2 


75 








8 


14 


10 


5 


7- 


8 


32 


8 


5 


7- 


9 


43 


7 


5 


8. 


5 


4 


5 


5 


5- 


5 


4 


6 


5 


5- 


5 


73 


5 


5 


5- 



96 
09 
09 

82 

27 
82 

37 
34 
12 

37 

74 
2 

51 
05 
75 
2 

41 
66 

5 
5 
o 
21 

5 
78 



In his annual report for 1917, the Superintendent of Education 
of Prince Edward Island gives the following percentages for the 
different provinces. They are at least approximately correct, 
but, as shown in the previous chapter, provincial reports are 
made on such different bases, accurate comparisons are not 
possible. 



"• Some of the tables have not been published. See note p. 86. 



86 



School Funds in the Province of Quebec 



Percentage of Expenditure for Education Paid by the Provincial 
Governments, 1915-16 



Ontario 5 

Quebec 16 

Nova Scotia 25 

New Brunswick 34 

Manitoba 20 



8 Saskatchewan 13 . i 

3 Alberta . 6.7 

4 British Columbia 49-4 

8 Prince Edward Island. ... 71 . i 



TABLE XXVI 

Averages from the Accompanying Tables' 
Percentage School Tax is of the Whole Tax 



Description 


Mean 


Mode 


Median 


Certain towns and cities in Quebec 

Certain towns and cities in Ontario 

Certain towns and cities in Massachusetts 

Certain municipalities. Nova Scotia 

Certain municipalities. New Brunswick 

Certain municipalities, Manitoba 

Certain municipalities, Saskatchewan 

Certain municipalities. Alberta 

Certain municipalities, British Columbia 


37 
32 
30 
34 
32 
34 
33 
27 

23 


5% 

47 

2 

79 
07 

78 

25 
48 
28 


35-5% 

33-5 

295 

30.5 

29.0 

32.0 

36.5 

295 

22.5 


38.6% 

32.25 

28.2 

32.15 
28.2 

33-5 
32.5 
28.0 
21.78 



In order to show the variation of the tax for school purposes 
within the county itself, and between individual counties, I have 
worked out the distribution for the counties of Ottawa and 
Quebec. These counties represent extreme groups: many other 
counties do not show so great a variation within their own 
municipalities, or between themselves. The injustice of the 
distribution may be better appreciated by noticing the number 
of persons who were compelled to pay the different rates. 

The Catholic rate payers of the city of Hull numbered 2,893, 
and paid a tax of 8 mills. This places almost half the rate payers 
in the 6-10 list; of the remainder about one third pay more than 
20 mills. 



^ A number of the tables on which these averages are based have been left 
out of this monograph to save space. They are on file in the Library at Colum- 
bia University, and may be consulted there. This also applies to a number of 
other tables which should appear in this and following chapters. 



Distribution of the Load 



87 



TABLE XXVII 

Ottawa County 



Number of Mills 


Protestant Tax 
Payers 


Catholic Tax 
Payers 


Total Tax 
Payers 


I- 5 


496 


III 


607 


6-IO 


246 


3577 


3823 


11-15 


563 


789 


1350 


16-20 


142 


645 


787 


21-25 


45 


641 


686 


26-30 


18 


487 


505 


36-40 


9 


225 


234 



The average assessed value of land in this county is $6.50 an 
acre; in Quebec County, I43.00 without including the city of 
Quebec. 

In Quebec County, the average valuation of each tax payer is 
$1,854.80. The average amount paid by each is $11.91, while 
the mean rate is 6.4 mills. In Ottawa County the average valua- 
tion of each tax payer is $1,075.68. The average amount paid 
by each is $15.26, and the mean rate, 14.8 mills. Here we have 
the rate payers of Ottawa County worth only two thirds as much 



TABLE XXVIII 
Quebec County 



Number of Mills 


Protestant Tax 
Payers 


Catholic Tax 
Payers 


Total Tax 
Payers 


I- 1.9 


93 


804 


897 


2- 2 


9 




102 1 


102 1 


3- 3 


9 


14 


1217 


1231 


4- 4 


9 




1154 


1154 


5- 5 


9 


99 


1370 


1469 


6- 6 


9 




17 


17 


7- 7 


9 


62 




62 


8- 8 


9 


19 




19 


15-15 


9 




168 


168 


17-17 


9 


50 




50 



88 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

as those of Quebec, paying one third more gross taxes, and paying 
rates of considerably more than double those of Quebec County. 

Do separated villages and towns have a larger valuation per 
tax payer, and a larger tax than the other parts of the county in 
which they are situated? 

In order to find an answer for this question, I shall first take 
two counties, divide them into villages and towns on the one hand, 
and rural municipalities, on the other. A comparison of the two 
groups thus created may throw some light on the question. 

The counties chosen are Stanstead, in the eastern townships 
where the population is a little less than half English, and Cham- 
bly, a county near Montreal with a comparatively large French 
speaking population. These counties are almost evenly divided 
between rural and urban municipalities. 

In the county of Chambly there are ten towns and villages, 
and seven rural municipalities. The average school tax for urban 
municipalities is 4.37 mills; for rural, 2.35 mills. The average 
valuation per tax payer, urban, is $39.59; rural, $33.24. 

In the county of Stanstead there are fifteen urban municipali- 
ties and thirteen rural. The average rate in the former is 6.5 
mills; in the latter, 7 mills. The average valuation per rate 
payer, urban, is $1573; rural, $1295. 

In the county of Chambly the valuation per rate payer is less 
in the country than in the town and villages, and the rate is also 
lower than in the towns and villages. In Stanstead County the 
rural municipalities have also a lower valuation but a higher rate. 
The towns and villages get a great deal more for their money. 
If the rural districts were to tax themselves to support the kind of 
schools maintained in villages, the rates would be much higher 
there. 

Rates would often be lower, were the Protestants and Catholics 
so constituted as to establish non-sectarian schools. But when 
a village separates from the township or parish, it almost always 
divides its schools into those under commissioners, and the dis- 
sentient schools under trustees. In small villages, especially, 
this means almost a double expense. When the township is also 
thus divided, the effect is even worse, as it usually means small, 
inefficient schools, with poorly paid teachers. 

There is much more intangible wealth in villages and towns 
than in rural communities. It may be urged that the farmer's 



Distribution of the Load 89 

property is plain to view, and that much of the wealth of the 
towns and villages is not found by the assessor. On the other 
hand, all personal property is exempt from taxation and this is 
a heavy item in every rural community. Again, in towns 
there are often business and other taxes unknown in the rural 
communities. Plainly these two counties give no answer to the 
question proposed. 

It is only fair to examine the general taxes for the two classes 
of municipalities, and see what differences are to be found, and 
also to compare wealth per head of population in the two groups. 
It may be that urban communities are much wealthier than rural 
ones, and that the former may raise more money for schools 
without feeling the higher rate as much as rural districts. 

I shall first take the counties of Stanstead and Chambly, those 
already studied in connection with the school tax, and then take, 
as before, a general selection of municipalities. There will also 
be presented the valuation of property exempt in both classes of 
municipalities and a comparison made between them. 

The average rate of general tax in the parishes of Chambly is 
2.16 mills; in villages and towns, 9.14 mills, or more than four 
times greater. In towns and villages 15.9 per cent of the 
real estate is exempt from taxation; in parishes, 2.45 per cent. 
The average amount of taxable property held by each rate 
payer in towns and villages is $3,490; in parishes, $2,409, while 
the average for each inhabitant in urban municipalities is $916, 
and in rural sections, $1,136. 

In Stanstead County, we have conditions reversed, the town- 
ships paying an average rate of 12.5 mills and the towns and vil- 
lages an average of 10.3 mills. The valuation per rate payer in 
urban sections is $310; in rural sections, $271, as compared with 
$916 and $1,136 for Chambly. The rate of taxation in these 
townships is almost six times as great as in the parishes of Cham- 
bly County. Such inequality of burden needs no comment. 

In order to get a more general view of the situation, I have 
picked out from all the counties those villages and parishes of the 
same name, where the village has been separated from the parish 
or township, as Hatley village, Hatley township. As there are 
frequently both Catholic and Protestant school organizations in 
each and sometimes in one or the other only, the numbers in the 
list of townships and villages are not necessarily the same. As 



90 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

a large number of the counties are represented the selection seems 
a typical one. 

The results obtained from an investigation of these groups 
show that in the towns and villages the mode is 5.5 mills and the 
average 6.88 mills. In the townships and parishes the mode is 
3.5 mills, and the average 5.43 mills. 

This seems to show conclusively that the municipalities sep- 
arated from the parishes and townships have a higher rate of tax 
for school purposes than the area from which they are separated. 
Nor is any difference in valuation likely to account for the differ- 
ence. Towns and villages generally have a valuation roll more 
nearly true value than country sections. 

In the whole province there are 881 rural municipalities, 208 
village municipalities, 80 towns, and 15 cities. Of these last 
three groups, I have worked out the rates of the general tax of 
269, with the following results: 

The mode is 10.5, the median 8.125, ^^id the mean 8.32. The 
averages for all municipalities, urban and rural, are, — mode 5.5, 
median 5.34, and mean 6.75. This shows again with even greater 
clearness that the urban rates are in advance of rural rates. 

The city of Montreal in 191 5- 16 levied school taxes as follows: 
Catholic, regular 4 mills, special 5 mills; Protestant, regular 4 
mills, special i mill. 

The regular municipal tax on real estate apart from schools 
was ID mills. Twenty-six and four tenths per cent of real estate 
was exempt from taxation. 

A water tax was levied as follows : 4 per cent on rental value of 
dwellings, stores, oflfices, shops, warehouses, factories, and 
other business places and churches. Ten per cent on rental value 
of hotels, taverns and restaurants, up to the sum of $10,000. A 
nominal tax of twenty-five dollars on hospitals with a minimum 
of 100 free beds. 

In the whole province, in 19 15-16, about 25 per cent of the 
real estate was exempt from taxation. This figure seems unus- 
ually large. In the province of Ontario in the same year 1 1.7 per 
cent was exempt. The percentage for Ontario is not far from 
that accepted by the United States Census Bureau for the whole 
of the United States. In the compilations in the 1912 Census, 
the Census Bureau considered the ratio 12.5 per cent.^ The 

^ Wealth, Debt and Taxation, Vol. I, p. 16. 



Distribution of the Load 91 

ratio of exemptions in Quebec is thus double that of the whole 
United States and slightly more than double that for Ontario. 

The value of property in Quebec exempt in 191 5-16 was 
$443,924,212. If the same ratio had been exempt as in the 
United States, there would have been $221,962,061 more taxable 
property. At the average rate for schools this would have 
yielded an additional sum of $1,809,280 for school purposes and 
almost twice as much for general purposes. 

As stated before, the percentage of city and town property 
exempt is larger than that of village and rural. 

The valuation of the fifteen cities of Quebec was as follows: 



Taxable 


Temporarily Non 


Immovables 


Exempt Taxable 


$847,643,988 


$30,834,720 $290,790,473 




Percentage of the whole exempt, 27.5 


The same 


figures for the eighty towns are as follows : 


Taxable 


Temporarily Non 


Immovables 


Exempt Taxable 


$121,114,937 


$32,485,044 $35,021,626 




Percentage of the whole exempt, 35.4 



The percentage for the towns is made greater by the three mill 
towns of Chicoutimi, Grand' Mere, and Shawinigan. I give them 
as extreme cases. 

Taxable Temporarily Exempt Rate 
Immovables Exempt 

Chicoutimi $2,758,577 $3,297,033 $1,511,300 I5 mills 

Grand' Mere 2,462,866 4,229,400 709,800 10 

Shawinigan 2,107,425 8,878,082 716,983 10 " 

Chicoutimi, 63 per cent exempt. Grand' Mere, 66 per cent exempt, Shawinigan, 

82 per cent exempt 

The taxable valuation for the whole province in 19 15-16 was 
$1,302,331,334, divided as follows: 

Cities $847,643,988 

Towns 121,114,937 

Total Urban $968,758,925 

Villages and Rural Sections 333,472,409 

(about 25 per cent of the whole) 



92 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

The population is divided as follows: 

Cities 956,687 

Towns 194,488 

Total Urban 1,151,175 

Village and Rural 1,158,252 

The cities and towns thus own three quarters of the assessable 
property, and yet number less than half of the population. 
The valuation per head of population in each case is •} 

Cities and Towns $841 

Villages and Rural 288 

When it is considered that the exemptions are greater in urban 
municipalities, this makes the disproportion in wealth still more 
marked. Then it must be remembered that there is no estimate 
made here of personal property, or any form of intangible wealth. 
In the cities and towns are to be found the great majority 
of men who hold this kind of property, and if this is considered, 
the disproportion would be very much greater than here appears. 
It is exceedingly difficult to find statistics on which to base 
deductions in regard to the position and value of these forms of 
property. 

The data presented lead inevitably to the following conclusions : 

1. There are very great inequalities in the distribution of the 
burden of taxation. These inequalities follow no lines, such as 
Catholic and Protestant, county or village, but municipalities 
vary in their tax rates in much the same way within and between 
all groups. While there is a great difference between counties, 
the municipalities within the county show also most remarkable 
and unfair extremes. 

2. The rates in villages, cities, and towns average considerably 
higher than in purely rural sections, both for schools and for other 
purposes. The rates for cities and towns are much more regular 
than those for rural municipalities, showing fewer extremes either 
up or down the scale. 

If cities and towns are put in what may be called the urban 
group, and villages and townships in the rural group, it is found 

^ The figures used above are taken from Municipal Statistics, 19 15-16, 
published by the Bureau of Statistics, Quebec. 



Distribution of the Load 93 

that on an average for each urban inhabitant there is almost 
three hundred per cent more taxable property than for each rural 
inhabitant. Very much larger sums of money are raised for 
school purposes in urban municipalities and without one third 
the financial effort that would be necessary to raise the same 
sums in rural municipalities. 

3. Many municipalities have an absurdly low tax rate, while 
many others have one as absurdly high. This is unfair, and 
undemocratic. Methods of equalization of the burden so far 
applied have thus failed and others must be found and put into 
effect. 



CHAPTER IV 
MORE FUNDS REQUIRED 

In the province of Quebec there are more children per thousand 
of population than in any other province. There is a dual system 
of schools, with a great deal of duplicating of school plants, staff, 
and administrative machinery. There are many extra expenses 
on account of the two languages, not only in printing but in 
making special provision for French in English schools and 
English in French schools. There should therefore be an 
exceptionally large percentage of revenue spent on education 
and a comparatively high tax for school purposes. 

This has been shown not to be the case. Although there is no 
personal property tax in the province and no income tax, and 
although all direct ad valorem taxes are levied by the municipal- 
ities, these municipal taxes are comparatively low. This applies 
both to general and to school taxes. Not only this, but valuation 
of real estate, upon which alone the rural municipalities depend 
for revenue, is decidedly low, usually from one third to two thirds 
actual selling value. Moreover, fully one quarter of the real 
estate is exempt from taxation altogether, more than twice as 
much as in the sister province of Ontario. How is it that under 
such conditions as these, the province of Quebec can educate the 
children in an adequate way? There are many reasons, the fore- 
most being that many of the teachers in French schools are con- 
secrated to the work of the church and ask in return for the work 
little more than food and clothing. Even after taking this into 
consideration, there are strong reasons why the province should 
greatly increase the expenditure for elementary and secondary 
education. Some of these reasons are: 

1. There must be a decided increase in the salaries of teachers. 
This is necessary not only to improve the staff, but even to keep as 
good as we now have. 

2. There are still to be found large numbers of schoolhouses 
that are not so good as the barns which house the cattle of the 

94 



More Funds Required 95 

adjoining farms. These must make way for good modern build- 
ings comfortably furnished, well-equipped and surrounded by 
ample and well-kept grounds. They should be at least as com- 
fortable and attractive as the churches, which are used only a 
few hours a week and by only certain classes of the population. 

3. Consolidated schools must be established wherever possible. 
These are more necessary in this province, with its dual system of 
schools, than in most other states and provinces. These schools 
may not cost more than individual schools as well equipped and 
manned would cost, but they will be much more expensive than 
the schools now in existence. Along with these schools will have 
to go in most instances, suitable quarters for teachers and jani- 
tors, as it is becoming increasingly hard to induce teachers to go 
into rural sections when suitable homes are not available. 

4. All children of school age must be educated. This will 
mean a large additional expense at once. But the day has come 
when it will not be enough to provide for children only up to 
fifteen years of age. Quebec will come into competition with 
the world and will have to educate its children as thoroughly as 
the children of other provinces and states are educated. 

It has just been stated that to educate all the children from 
five to fifteen would mean a much larger number than is now in 
attendance. The number of children registered in the different 
grades of Catholic and Protestant public schools in 19 15 and 
1916 has been given on page 63 of the last section. From the 
federal census it is learned that of the population group from 
fifteen to seventeen years old, Quebec has 19.36 per cent attend- 
ing school; Prince Edward Island, 33.92 per cent; Nova Scotia, 
33.17; New Brunswick, 34.07; and the whole of Canada, 27.14. 
These are startling figures. If Quebec should fall in line with 
other advanced states and provide education for children up to 
eighteen years of age, the additional expense would be great. 

As has been said, the salaries of teachers are painfully small 
and pensions inadequate. There are, in the province, 15,346 
teachers in schools classed as primary. This includes all schools 
under control of school boards and also the twelve normal schools. 
Of these teachers, 13,272 are Catholic and 2,074 Protestant. 
Out of 400 Catholic male teachers who have diplomas, 228 have 
normal school training and the rest have diplomas granted by the 
examining board. Their average salary is: 



96 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

Elementary schools in cities and towns . $746 

Model schools and academies in cities and towns 877 

Elementary schools in the country 550 

Model schools and academies in the country 594 

Of the 6,031 Catholic women teachers who are not nuns, only 
1,114 have normal school diplomas, and 4,917, diplomas granted 
by the board of examiners. Their average salary for cities and 
towns is: 

Elementary schools $281 

Model schools and academies 330 

In the country: 

Elementary schools $183 

Model schools and academies 210* 

Of the Protestant teachers 136 men and 1,564 women have 
diplomas, i Of the men 70 have normal school diplomas and the 
others have those granted by the examining board. Their 
average salary is: 

Elementary schools in cities and towns $1,699 

Model and high schools in cities and towns 1,512 

Elementary schools in the country 335 

Model schools and academies in the country 966 

The Protestant women teachers who hold normal school diplomas 
number 1,102, and diplomas from the examining board, 462. 
Their average salary is : 

Elementary schools in cities and towns $749 

Model schools and academies in cities and towns 664 

Elementary schools in the country 285 

Model schools and academies in the country 426 

Averages sometimes give wrong impressions. By far the 
largest single group of teachers is that including the female 
Catholic elementary teacher. These number 6,031 and their 
average salary has risen from $105 in 1895-96 to $198 in 191 5- 16, 
twenty years after. The average salary for all lay female 
teachers. Catholic and Protestant, city and country, elementary, 
high and normal schools including 7,595 teachers, was $273. 

The increase in the average salaries of lay teachers in Quebec 
is graphically shown in Fig. 7. 

^ Educational Statistics, 19 15-16. 



More Funds Required 



97 



\*//n 




%0Q 



/ OO 



t A ^ i ^ ^ ^ I M J i ^ ^ ^ ^^ i-- 4 4 5i ^ ^ ^ 

Fig. 7. Teachers' Salaries in Quebec. 
There are 13,272 primary teachers, so called, teaching in 
Catholic schools. Of these only 6,431 have so far been consid- 
ered. The others are without diplomas either from a normal 
school or the central board : their salaries are not included in the 



98 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

averages given and little is reported in regard to them. These 
are mainly the religious teachers. Doubtless many have re- 
ceived special training in the convents and similar institutions of 
the church. In this large body of teachers who have dedicated 
their lives to the work of instructing youth, Quebec has two 
very decided advantages. First, these teachers do not look 
upon the work of teaching as a stepping stone to a so-called 
higher profession; they have chosen this as their life's work 
and neither marriage nor any of the inducements which are so 
effective in drawing Protestant women and men out of the 
service has any influence on them. Second, they usually stay 
continually in one place, and are only moved if those in authority 
consider that educational and religious ends will be served by 
a change. 

TEACHERS IN THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC IN 19I5-16 

Roman Catholic 

Male with Normal School Diplomas 228 

Male with Board of Examiners' Diplomas 172 

Male, lay without Diplomas 55 

Male, religious teachers (members of clergy) 770 

(brothers) 1667 

Female with Normal Diplomas 1 1 14 

Female with Board of Examiners' Diplomas 4917 

Female, lay without Diplomas 497 

Female, religious (nuns) 4909 

Protestant 

Male with Normal Diplomas 70 

Male with Board of Examiners' Diplomas 66 

Male without Diplomas 49 

Female with Normal Diplomas 1 102 

Female with Board of Examiners' Diplomas 462 

Female without Diplomas 325 

All Teachers 

Without Diplomas 926 

Diplomas from a Normal School 2514 

Diplomas from a Board of Examiners 5617 

Lay Teachers in Special Schools 881 

Total Lay Teachers 9938 

Total Religious Teachers 7346 

Total Teachers 17,2841 



1 Educational Statistics, 19 15-16. 



More Funds Required 99 

Fig. 8 shows graphically the facts in regard to teachers' licenses 
in the province of Quebec. 

PROTESTANT 

Male, Without Diploma 

Male, Board of Examiners' Diploma 

M&le, Kormal Diploma 

Female, without Diploma 

Fenale, Soard of Bxaminers' Diploma 

Female, Normal Diploma 

CATHOLIC 

i 

tfalo, Lay without Diploma 
Male, Lay, Norjnal Diplotoa 
]t!ale, Board of Xxeoninars' Diploma 

■m.\te, Belisious 
denial «, Lay without Piploma 

Female, La.y, Kormal Diploma 

female, Lay, loard of 
fxaminers* Diploma, 

Fenale, Religious 
Fig. 8. Teachers' Licenses in Quebec. 

The subject of salaries and of the supply of teachers has 
recently been studied by a special commission of the Associa- 
tion of Protestant Teachers of the Province of Quebec. Their 
report was given in part at the meeting of the association held 
in Montreal, late in 191 8, To quote from their report: 

The seriousness of the situation caused by the decrease in enrollment is 
accentuated by an increase in the demand for teachers. On the scarcity 
of teachers the salary question has an important bearing. Dean Sinclair 
Laird 1 says intheJournalof Agriculture: "Even if all the students in train- 

^ Dean of the School for Teachers, Macdonald College. 




100 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

ing are available for the needs of the Province outside of the city of Mont- 
real, there will not be sufficient to staff the schools. The present situa- 
tion is therefore a serious one and is due very largely to the fact that the 
teaching profession is not now an attractive one for the young people. 
School Boards do not offer salaries sufficiently large to attract large num- 
bers to their service. The staffing problem will not be well handled until 
there are more teachers than vacancies, so that School Boards can pick 
and choose between available candidates. Teachers are everywhere in 
this Province dissatisfied with their salaries. . . . Young women are 
leaving our High Schools before the eleventh grade for employment in other 
professions. This leaves a very small number proportionally to finish the 
High School course. Even if all these candidates for School Leaving 
Certificates became teachers, we would still not have a sufficient number 
to supply our needs. The teaching profession must therefore be made 
sufficiently attractive to these young persons to offset the advantages of 
the other careers now open to women." 

It is well to point out that many business women receive higher salaries 
than teachers. 

Other places have had the same problems to solve and have realized that 
the question of remuneration is the chief reason for the present unfortunate 
state of affairs. The provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan are adver- 
tising in our Eastern papers for teachers, with the government guaranteeing 
minimum salaries in rural schools of $840 a year. The average salary in 
strictly rural schools of Ontario is $667.50. 

The immediate remedy for the present shortage of teachers and candi- 
dates for the profession lies in the direction of increased salaries. It is 
true that the services of a good teacher cannot be reckoned in dollars and 
cents, yet a remuneration commensurate with the cost of living and the 
cost of training for the profession must be provided, and this must com- 
pare favourably with the salary granted in other occupations. 

We would suggest that a fixed minimum salary should be established in 
this Province as has already been done elsewhere and that this fixed mini- 
mum should be $500 per year for teachers holding Elementary Diplomas 
and $700 for teachers holding Model School Diplomas. This minimum 
would provide a basis on which all boards could act, and should be estab- 
lished by the government of the province. It is only by such means that 
a sufficient number of suitable candidates can be obtained for the teaching 
profession. In the larger centres higher salaries would naturally prevail 
because of the higher cost of living; but this minimum provided for the 
rural districts would serve as a basis from which a reasonable salary could 
be computed. 

In order to meet the increase in expenditure thus involved, we feel that 
the provincial government must be called on to give more substantial 



More Funds Required lOl 

assistance to the local boards. In many of our municipalities taxes are 
already so high that it would be unfair to call for a further increased realty 
rate. 

Speaking on this same subject Mr. J. C. Sutherland, the 
inspector general of Protestant schools, says: 

It is evident now that the rural teachers must be better paid at once or 
none will be available — at least with diplomas. School boards which 
obtained teachers eight years ago at the wretched pittance of $i8 per month 
now find difificulty in getting them (after advertising in local and city 
newspapers) at $35 per month. The time has arrived when nothing less 
then $50 per month should be offered. This looks like a large jump from 
the standard of only a few years ago, but the times have changed both for 
teachers and for the rural rate payers in most cases. The cost of living 
has greatly increased for the teacher, and the qualified ones are constantly 
tempted to the $60 and $70 a month salaries in the western provinces. 
The rural municipalities are in most instances well qualified to offer 
the higher salaries. The new valuations which were made in many 
municipalities last year, in accordance with the Municipal Code, have 
shown that the previous valuations were usually only a third, a fourth, or 
even a less fraction than that, of the real value, and that consequently the 
nominal rate of say a dollar on the hundred dollars was really about 
twenty-five cents, or two and a half mills on the dollar. 

After close inquiry on this subject in various parts of the province, I am 
convinced that there is no excuse for delay in the matter of raising the 
standard of the salaries of the rural teachers. The economic reasons are 
not confined to the fact that trained teachers are allured to other prov- 
inces where the reward is greater ; young women of ability are constantly 
afforded more attractive careers in our own province as trained nurses 
and as stenographers in banks and business offices. The war has inten- 
sified this demand, and an inadequate supply of trained teachers is not 
only evident now throughout the province, but is bound to become still 
more inadequate in the immediate future. 

Unless the dreary, hopeless, and essentially immoral conclusion is held 
that "it does not matter what kind of a teacher is engaged as long as he is 
willing to accept the salary that is offered," this question of a minimum of 
at least $50 a month for the rural elementary teachers must be faced at 
once. And it is equally certain that the salaries in the rural intermediate 
or model schools must be advanced. The facts and figures which demon- 
strate the need of action, and which also prove that there are few munici- 
palities unable to meet the situation, might well be the main subject of 
discussion in another and early campaign. The example of the British 
parliament in adopting a great progressive educational policy involving 
increased expenditures in war time, is one to be followed. 



102 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

Enough has been said to estabUsh the proposition that there will 
have to be a great increase in the salaries of teachers. 

Not only must these salaries be increased, but the quality of 
the staff must be greatly improved. A large number of the 
teachers have had no training for their work, many have had no 
examinations to test their professional and general scholarship. 
At the present salaries they cannot afford to take a year's training 
at a normal school. When this requirement is made, as it should 
be, better normal school accommodation must be found and 
money to equip and staff the new normal schools. 

No one can read the reports of the inspectors without realizing 
the impossible task given to them. The problem of inspection is 
made more difficult by the dual system of schools, inasmuch as 
in mixed counties both English and French inspectors must cover 
the same territory. 

The large number of teachers already in service without ade- 
quate training must look in part to the inspectors for guidance 
in their teaching, reading, and general improvement. In the 
enforcement of a compulsory school law, local officers must be 
guided and backed up by the regular or special inspectors. The 
increase in the number of schools that will follow a compulsory 
law properly enforced, will mean more inspectors. One may 
easjily estimate that treble the present amount of money should 
be set aside for the purposes of inspection and supervision. 

These are some of the outstanding purposes for which more 
money is needed. Nothing has been said about technical and 
vocational education, special schools for backward children, 
adequate medical inspection, and the many things that must 
receive more and more attention as people become more con- 
scious of the problems around them. 

Where is the money to come from? It is as useless to seek to 
raise money by pleasant and easy methods as was the search for 
the elixir of life or the Philosopher's Stone. The money must be 
earned, and collected in some way by the authorities. As to the 
best method of collecting it and as to who are the proper author- 
ities, there is a difference of opinion. A few well-established prin- 
ciples may be laid down. 

I. Not only must the method be fair to all classes, but it must 
readily appear fair to those concerned. Few people object to 
paying their share, but all dislike what seems an imposition 
and will evade it if within their power. 



More Funds Required 103 

2. The unit of taxation must be as large as is convenient and 
the larger the fairer. It has already been shown how very un- 
equal is the burden of taxation in this province. In some coun- 
ties a rate payer is taxed for school purposes fifty times as much 
on $1,000 of real estate as another rate payer only a few miles 
away, despite the fact that both belong to Canada and are liable 
to military service and their children are of the same stock, and 
must live under similar conditions. There is no equality of 
opportunity in this. Often, too, after this heavy payment, the 
school supported is inadequate and the parent must send the 
boy away to the village for the short time he can afiford, in order 
to give him a chance to hold his own. This is not fair, it is not 
democratic, it does not give the slightest semblance of equal 
opportunity, and it cannot last. There is only one practicable 
remedy and that one is an equalization of taxation through 
larger government grants. It has been shown that there has 
been a large increase in government grants of late, but a great 
part of the money has gone to higher and special schools. An 
attempt has been made to help municipalities where the rate was 
high, but, as the present rates show, it has stopped far short of 
sufficiency. 

Before further aid of this kind can properly be demanded, some 
other changes are necessary. Many municipalities show a high 
rate of taxation because of large exemptions and low valuation. 
The exemptions of manufacturing establishments should be 
stopped and that of schools and church property should be 
limited to that actually occupied by these institutions. 

More money may be secured by taxing government property. 
It is true that such property belongs to all the people, and in 
taxing it we are taxing ourselves. It must be remembered, how- 
ever, that what is needed is an equitable distribution of taxation. 
The Dominion government collects its revenues from the whole 
of Canada, and any tax it pays is thus the most widely distributed 
of any possible Canadian tax. A tax on government railroads, 
post-offices, and other such property is therefore not only fair 
but decidedly equalizing in effect. The same argument will 
apply to property owned by the provincial government, but to a 
lesser extent. 

As property owned by the Dominion government is exempt 
from taxation by a provision of the British North America Act, 



104 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

it would require an act of the Imperial Parliament to make such 
property taxable. The New York State Commission on taxa- 
tion recently recommended that the Federal government pay 
local taxes on their property, taking the ground that it was un- 
fair to impose on any local community an expense that belonged 
to the nation. While in Great Britain, government property is 
not taxed, the government acknowledges the justice of the claim 
and, except in special cases, makes a contribution to the local 
authorities equal to the local rate. There is no reason why this 
could not be done in Canada without imperial legislation. 
Finally, when government railroads and company roads are 
both so largely represented and in such active competition as in 
Eastern Canada, the companies owning roads will consider them- 
selves justified in evading all taxes possible, unless their com- 
petitor also is taxed. 

It is not the purpose of this article to take up the raising of 
money for various municipal purposes. The cities of Quebec, as 
those of all other countries, devise various methods to keep up 
their revenues. The schools, however, are dependent for local 
support on a direct tax on real estate, and it is to the interest of 
education to find all real estate that can fairly be taxed. 

In some municipalities rates are higher than need be on account 
of the low valuation. Assessed values in the province are sup- 
posed to correspond with actual cash values, and the assessors 
take oath that they will make such a valuation. There is not in 
Quebec a heavy premium on keeping down valuation. The 
county council handles little money, but certain sums are voted 
by it for the building and maintenance of court houses and for 
special purposes, as contributions to the patriotic and Red Cross 
funds. These are levied on the local municipalities according to 
valuation and collected by the local officers. This tax is usually 
less than one half of one mill, but assessors perjure themselves 
to save this for the municipality. In some towns and cities the 
assessors bring in what seems to them a safe valuation. The 
council then adopts a motion to reduce this fifty per cent, or what- 
ever fraction seems to them to correspond with valuation in other 
sections. 

Conditions are no better in rural sections. I give below a list 
of farms in a certain township that either changed hands during 
the year, or for which a bona fide offer was made. The average 
valuation will be found 33.8 per cent of the selling price. 



More Funds Required 



105 



TABLE XXIX 
Comparison of Actual Selling Value with Valuation of Eight Farms 
IN Stan stead County, 19 18 









Estimated value 
of tools, stock, 
crops, etc., 
exempt by 
Statute 





II 
IS 


§•2 8 

fell 


No. I 


300 


$4,000 


$4,000 


$16,000 


$12,000 


33-3 


No. 2 


310 


3,000 


500 


8,000 


7,500 


40 





No. 3 


300 


4,200 


6,000 


20,000 


14,000 


30 





No. 4 


115 


1,900 


1,500 


7,000 


5,500 


34 


5 


No. 5 


317 


4,900 


6,000 


22,000 


16,000 


30 


5 


No. 6 


130 


3,000 


None 


5,500 


5,500 


54 


5 


No. 7 




2,400 


5,000 


16,000 


11,000 


21 


8 


No. 8 


IOC 


3,300 


2,500 


10,000 


7,500 


44 







$26,700 


$79,000 







Numbers r, 2, 4, and 6 were actual sales, the others, offers refused. 

The total assessed value of the farms is 33.8 per cent of the 
actual value. The average valuation of land per acre for the 
whole county, including all immovables, is $18.50. 

The provincial statistician, in his report for 1915, has the fol- 
lowing to say on this point: 

Municipal Valuation: Under article 650 of the New Municipal Code, 
the assessors of every municipality must draw up, in every third year, in 
the months of June and July, a valuation roll based upon the real value of 
the property. 

Now, it is recognized that with almost rare exceptions, taxable property 
is not valued at its real value, but much less and sometimes at less than 
half of its actual value. In certain counties the average price per acre, 
according to this fictitious valuation, is less than $5.00; rarely does it rise 
to more than $30.00 for the same unity of area. There are provinces in 
Canada where taxable property has no more value than in our province, 
and yet the average valuation per acre varies from $15.00 to $75.00. It is 
easy then to establish a parallel and conclude therefrom that our immov- 
able property in the province of Quebec is of frightfully little value and 
that the land must be of a very inferior quality. 

Why this pernicious habit? Why with our full consent become our 
own defamers? Why thus ruin our credit with outsiders? I know of 
no acceptable reason but that in each local municipality it is sought to 
pay the least possible taxes to the County Council. 



I06 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

How does it come about that the assessors and the Secretary-Treasurer 
attest under oath the correctness of such valuation roll as being based on 
the real value of property? 

It is really inconceivable how citizens worthy of confidence and respect 
thus make a fantastic valuation to the detriment of the interests of their 
municipality and of the province and that, moreover,' they swear to such 
roll being exact and to represent the real value of the taxable property. 
It is time for thought to be given to this and a remedy applied. 

I give below a distribution of the assessed values of land and 
buildings in the different counties of the province. These figures 
do not include cities, towns, and incorporated villages. 

TABLE XXX 

Value of Land per Acre as Distributed Among the Different 
Counties of Quebec 

Dollars per acre Numbers of Counties 
Taxable immovables 

0-4 5 

5-9 12 

10-14 13 

15-19 12 

20-24 8 

25-29 6 

30-34 I 

35-39 5 

40-44 5 

45-49 I 

80-84 I 

95-99 2 

The 19,352,382 acres taxed are valued at $310,413,240, an 
average of $16.07. (J^ urban municipalities the valuation is 

1975,103404-) 

In the Census and Statistics Monthly for February, 191 7, the 
Canadian Statistics Office gives the value of improved land in 
1916 as estimated by correspondents. The figure for Quebec is 
$52.13 per acre. If this estimate is correct, the rural assessment 
for the whole province is 30.8 per cent of estimated cash value. 

The necessity for a true valuation seems all the more pressing 
when it is remembered that there is no personal property tax in 
the province of Quebec. Money, credits, franchises, all intangi- 

^ Quebec Statistical Year Book, 1917, 



More Funds Required 107 

ble forms of wealth have largely escaped taxation until now, when 
the federal business and income tax are finding some wealth 
before untaxed. 

Some idea of the way wealth of this kind tends to accumulate 
in business centres is brought out by the subscriptions to the war 
loan. The taxable real estate of Montreal in 19 17 was valued at 
$613,826,868. During the war Montreal had subscribed gener- 
ously to all funds, and subscribed largely to all loans. Of the 
last Dominion loan of $695,387,277, more than one fifth was 
subscribed in Montreal. Montreal's subscription was larger 
than those made by the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, 
Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island combined. "^ 
This subscription alone amounted to almost one quarter of the 
value of the taxable real estate of the city. This does not mean 
a great sacrifice, but Montreal, from its position, has become the 
great commercial centre of Canada, and the central and western 
provinces especially pay tribute to her. In addition to the real 
estate, there are in Montreal great accumulations of other forms 
of wealth, and a small part of this has been lent to the country on 
a five and a half per cent, free from income tax, basis. 

Outside of Montreal the province subscribed less than British 
Columbia and Manitoba, and only slightly in excess of Nova 
Scotia. One prosperous manufacturing village of the province 
subscribed for this loan $100 for every $134 of taxable valuation. 
There was no real estate sold, business went on as usual. Large 
sums had been invested in previous loans, in gold mines, black 
fox ranches. Western lands, and manufacturing establishments in 
other parts of Canada. Yet for this loan, in a few weeks or 
months, a sum of more than seventy-four per cent of the taxable 
valuation was available. No doubt some money came in from 
outside, but the remarkable ratio between taxable property and 
the subscription was due mainly to a very low valuation, and to 
the presence in the community of a great deal of wealth untouched 
by the tax collector. 

This low valuation cannot be attributed to intentional dis- 
honesty. The officers of each municipality know other munici- 
palities are doing the same thing and out of loyalty to the home 
town they fall in line. There is no group of men whose business 
it is to coordinate the results of the local valuators and bring 

^ Montreal Gazette, 1919. 



io8 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

about an equalization.^ It is a delicate business. No outsider 
is welcomed by the local authorities and reformers are regarded 
with suspicion. It is mooted that legislation will be introduced 
in the next session of the legislature to make it impossible for a 
council to base the assessment on a certain percentage of the 
valuation. But this will not necessarily help the situation. 
Such legislation must be backed by the appointment of a com- 
missioner or deputy who, with a competent staff, will start an 
active campaign. These men should meet the boards of assessors 
and the local councils and not only explain the law but insist on 
its observance. Taxation is a subject that legislators have been 
afraid to touch. The fact that the provincial government levies 
no direct tax, has led it to leave the matter in the hands of the 
local councils. 

In attempting to get a higher valuation of taxable property, 
Quebec will not be attacking a new problem. Ontario has 
attempted a process of equalization and many states in the 
American Union have been grappling earnestly with the problem. 
Of all the American states that have struggled with the ques- 
tion, perhaps Michigan has achieved most remarkable results. 
As conditions in that state in some respects are not unlike those 
of Quebec, I shall give in some detail the results of the Michigan 
experiment.^ 

In 1909 there were fifteen hundred assessors in the eighty- 
three counties and assessments varied from thirty per cent to 
eighty per cent of cash value. A tax commission appointed in 
1899 had become a mere formality. In 191 1 and 1913 the 
legislature took the question in hand and made legislation based 
upon the following theories: 

1 . That actual cash value was the only basis for an assessment. 

2. That equalization between assessing districts would not 
bring about cash value assessments. 

3. That cash value assessments could only be brought about 
through complete control and supervision of the work of the 
local assessors. 



^ The county council has authority to do this, but little has been accom- 
plished by it. 

2 Report of the National Tax Association, 1917; an article by O. F. Barnes, 
chairman of the State Board of Assessors. 



More Funds Required 109 

4. That this control and supervision could best be exercised 
by a state board of tax commissioners. 

The law that followed did far more than confer authority, it 
required the commission to do thus and so, under heavy penalties 
for neglect. 

The commission began its work in 191 2. On January i of that 
year the valuation was $1,897,057,458. On November i, 1917, 
it was $4,022,507,720, an increase of one hundred and twelve per 
cent. As was to be expected, some counties showed a much 
greater percentage of increase than others. Some of the percent- 
ages of increase are as follows : 

Per Cent 

Iron County 488 . 8 

Gogebic County 320 . i 

Sanilac County 148 . 6 

Marquette County 143-4 

Huron County 141 .6 

Berrien County 1 14 . 6 

Monroe County lOi . 3 

Others showing a small increase are: 

Mackinac County 47-2 

Ottawa County 46 . 8 

Oakland County 45-7 

Lenawee County 26 . 6 

Antrim County 26 . 2 

Tuscola County 14.3 

To-day, according to the estimate of the tax commissioner, the 
assessment of the state is ninety-six per cent of the cash value. 
This work was not done without a great deal of effort. Ninety- 
one experts and field men were under the direction of the com- 
missioner and about $140,000 was spent each year. What seems 
strange is that very few now make serious objection to the new 
system and since the reassessment is completed, the tax com- 
mission is more popular than when it began its work. 

All who have had experience in work of this kind lay great 
stress on the following: 

1. There must be an active campaign of education. 

2. The men sent out must understand their business and 
must be fair-minded, tactful, honourable. 

3. They must not undertake to valuate the property, so much 
as to find out by personal investigation at what price local owners 
really value their own property. 



no School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

4. They must have strong, reasonable legislation back of 
them, and must have a sufficient force to get the whole province 
or state revaluated promptly, so that each municipality may 
realize it is not being treated differently from others. 

5. Provision must be made for the local assessors to do the 
work of revaluation themselves and thus, where possible, make 
unnecessary the work of state officials. 

Now is the time to introduce new legislation and start the cam- 
paign of education in the province of Quebec. The war has 
opened the people's eyes so that they see the value of cooperation. 
They have given of their money as never before and it has seemed 
a little thing in comparison to the greater sacrifices they have 
been called upon to make. The idea of stewardship has been 
urged as never before and generally accepted. The people have 
pooled their resources to carry on the war ; why not do the same 
for the sake of good schools, good roads and good homes for the 
working people? During the last four years many of our people 
have given away all but enough to live on. Now is the time to 
bring home to them the big idea that even in times of peace, the 
things citizens may and should do as a group are as important as 
what they do as individuals, and money must be as freely pro- 
vided for the one as for the other. 

Even after these reforms have been made, the inequalities in 
the local tax levy will be as great as before, and it will still be 
necessary to have largely increased legislative grants. No 
legislative grants will relieve the unfair pressure of taxes unless 
there is first an equalization of valuation. I have gone into this 
question in fuller detail than may have seemed necessary because 
a true valuation is a sine qua non to a just distribution of gov- 
ernment grants. 

It now appears from the low taxes in Chambly County, for 
instance, that few government grants are needed in that county. 
A county like Ottawa has an average tax rate four times as 
high as Chambly County. Then, one may say that government 
grants should be given to Ottawa County and withheld from 
Chambly County until the rates are the same in each. But the 
assessed value of land in Chambly County is $80 per acre and in 
Ottawa County $6.50 per acre. There may be this difference in 
actual value; that is not known at the present, however, and 



More Funds Required iii 

until it is known and if wrong, rectified, no government would 
remain in power that undertook to equalize the taxes. 

Or, again, in the county of Chambly, St. Hubert levied, in 
1915-16, a regular school tax of fifteen mills and a special school 
tax of ten mills. In the same year in the same county, Green- 
field Park, Catholic dissentient, levied a tax of 1.2 mills, only one 
twentieth of that levied by St. Hubert. 

In Ottawa County in the same year Ste. Philomene levied a 
tax of forty mills and five mills special assessment, while the 
Protestant commissioners of the city of Hull in the same county 
levied a tax of four mills in all, only one eleventh of the rate in 
Ste. Philomene. These remarkable variations within the same 
county are not so likely to be due to a difference in valuation; 
but that point must be settled before any equalization through 
the apportionment of government grants can be attempted. It 
must be settled, too, in such a way as to convince the voters that 
the settlement is just. 

In addition to the equalization that a wise distribution of 
government grants will accomplish, there is the encouragement 
it will afford the local community. Take, as an example, the 
consolidated schools. They are still few in this province, and 
before they can be started many local prejudices must be over- 
come. If the government is able to provide a generous percent- 
age of the initial cost,^ a further percentage on the transporta- 
tion of the children, and pledge itself to give an amount double 
that raised by the municipality on all taxation for school purposes 
above five mills, or above the average for the province, then the 
local authorities would feel safe in proceeding. Something has 
already been done in this way and a number of good schools 
erected, but larger grants are needed to make such schools general. 

At the present time, government grants are often so small as to 
be scarcely worth bothering with. If larger, the Department of 
Public Instruction could insist on a certain class of teacher being 
employed, high standards maintained, and good buildings and 
grounds provided, knowing right well that these things would be 
done. In brief, substantial government grants would place the 
control of the schools largely in the hands of the Department of 



1 The government at present gives substantial aid to consolidated schools, 
providing 25 per cent of the initial cost and a certain varying part of the trans- 
portation charges. 



112 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

Public Instruction and would give the ablest educational expert 
in the province a chance to make his influence felt in every school 
in the province and bring about reform without delay or friction. 

Notwithstanding what has been said, it must be admitted that 
the provincial authorities have tried to stimulate local effort, 
and encourage both teachers and school municipalities by means 
of special grants. 

A study of the provincial expenditures for schools (page 53) will 
show the following special grants: 

1 . Fifty thousand dollars to municipalities to assist in building 
and maintaining new academies for boys. 

2. Four thousand dollars to encourage the teaching of French 
by specialists in Protestant schools. 

3. One hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars to rural 
municipalities which pay their teachers at least $125 annually. 

4. Sixty thousand dollars to those which pay their teachers at 
least $150 annually. 

5. Thirty thousand dollars to those which pay their teachers an 
annual salary of at least $175. 

6. Ten thousand dollars to those which pay $200 annually. 

7. Twenty-five thousand dollars is distributed to poor munici- 
palities so called, on the recommendation of the inspectors. 

8. Fourteen thousand dollars is distributed to village and rural 
municipalities which employ male teachers for boys from ten to 
eighteen years of age. 

9. Five thousand dollars is given to encourage the teaching of 
drawing. 

10. Twelve thousand dollars is given to secure books for prizes. 

1 1 . Ten thousand dollars is granted on the recommendation of 
the inspectors to the most deserving municipalities. 

12. Thirty-one thousand dollars is given directly to those 
teachers who have taught ten or more years in the province; 
$15 a year from ten to fifteen years; $20 from fifteen to twenty 
years, and $25 a year for any number above twenty years. 

13. Seventeen thousand dollars is given direct to those teachers 
who are recommended by the inspector for special excellence. 
In this case, $20 a year is the usual amount given. 

14. Seven thousand eight hundred dollars is given to encourage 
the teaching of household science, granted by the Department of 



More Funds Required 1 13 

Agriculture out of ordinary revenues and ten thousand dollars 
for the same purpose out of the federal subsidy. 

15. Thirteen thousand five hundred dollars is given out of the 
federal subsidy to encourage agricultural instruction in acade- 
mies, rural schools, and normal schools. A good part of this 
last sum went to pay special lecturers who gave short courses in 
connection with the schools. 

16. Two hundred thousand dollars is distributed on the basis 
of school enrollment the previous year. 

17. There is also the Elementary School Fund of one hundred 
and fifty thousand dollars established by 60 Victoria, Chap. Ill, 

As shown by the data already presented, none of these grants 
bring about an equalization of municipal tax rates, nor have they 
succeeded in exerting such effective pressure as would lead to 
greatly improved public schools. Take, as an example, the $225,- 
000 distributed to municipalities other than cities and towns 
that pay their teachers an annual salary of $125 or upwards. 
This total sum is considerably more than one third of the whole 
government grant to school municipalities. The minimum salary 
that the grant establishes is absurdly low ; the apportionment does 
not take into account ability to pay, and the whole amount when 
divided among the municipalities entitled to the grant, gives very 
little for each school. As it is apportioned on the basis of school 
enrollment, the greater part goes to the larger schools. The poor 
rural school, with an enrollment of twelve pupils, does not get 
more than fifteen dollars a year, even though the teacher be 
paid the maximum figure of $200 a year salary. In this latter 
instance, the municipality would receive a share of each of the 
four grants, as they are given on a cumulative basis. The same 
is mainly true of the $200,000, known as the Public School Fund. 
The whole government grant for all purposes made to all school 
municipalities in 1915-16 was $587,263.52. Divided among the 
1,671 municipalities this means $352.04 for each. There are in 
the province 20,710 teachers, 15,346 of whom were in elementary 
a.id model schook and in schools of academic rank. The grant 
imoanted to an average of $38.91 per teacher in these last named 
schools. Taking the number of pupils in these schools as 464,447, 
v^^e would have an average grant of $1.26 per pupil enrolled. 
I In the county of Jacques Cartier, the grant for all purposes 
fi'mounted to $14.78 per teacher, and in Mantane County, to 



114 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

$138.27 per teacher. Notwithstanding this advantage extended 
to Mantane County, the regular school tax there was 10.2 mills 
and in Jacques Cartier, 3.56. That is, the average tax rate was 
almost three times greater in Mantane. Each county contained 
thirty-four school municipalities. 

As has been shown on page 55 a part of the money charged up 
to education is not administered by the Department of Public 
Instruction. Some of this goes for overhead expenses, but an 
important part is not granted on any approved plan. This is 
distributed in the different counties on the recommendation of 
the county representative of the provincial legislature. In plain 
words, it is not distributed primarily on a basis of need, but on 
the well known principle of political patronage. A distribution 
of this kind may often result in placing money where it is needed, 
but it is, nevertheless, wholly bad. 

The time has come for all the money granted to school 
municipalities to be administered by the Department of Public 
Instruction. Only in this way can the government of the day 
be delivered from a temptation that has proved irresistible. 



CHAPTER V 
FEDERAL AND PROVINCIAL REVENUE 

Income of the Province 

It has been clearly shown that more funds are needed for 
educational purposes in the province. While many local munici- 
palities can and should increase their rates, others are already 
overtaxed. The only solution seems to lie in greatly increased 
government grants. 

But the provincial government has already found abundant use 
for its limited income. It can only expend what money it re- 
ceives from the people, and its means of raising money are 
limited. It levies no general tax on property, and, according to 
an understanding with the federal government, it is not expected 
to place a tax on income. Then, in common with all other 
modern governments, the Quebec authorities are continually 
forced to make increased expenditures, not only for education, 
but for almost every other department of government. 

The funded debt of Quebec in 1915-16 was $36,860,000. 
The percentages of the regular annual expenditure of each 
province required to pay interest on funded debt, interest reck- 
oned at four per cent are: 



Quebec 15 

Ontario 14 

Prince Edward Island 6 

New Brunswick 20 

Nova Scotia 13 



8 Manitoba 18.8 

4 Saskatchewan 19 .2 

54 Alberta 20. 3 

3 British Columbia 8 . 56 

4 



An analysis of the income of the province shows the following: 

1. From the Dominion government $2,135,558.00 

2. From forest, lands, mines, fish and game 2,073,072 .00 

3. From the municipalities for services rendered by provincial 

government, and from persons on pensions, etc 464,639 . 00 

4. From interest on investments, and payments on sums 

advanced or paid in error 510,540.00 

5. From stamps, fees and licenses 2,154,445.00 

6. From taxes on estates of deceased persons, and from corpor- 

ations and companies of various kinds 2,492,240.00 

7. Money borrowed 3,968,000.00 

Unclassified 49,067 . 47 

$13,847,561.47 
115 



Ii6 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

It is evident that of these only two groups, namely 5 and 6, are 
raised by means of a provincial tax. The first was provided for 
by the British North America Act, and is supposed to be the 
province's share of customs and other duties. The third merely 
shows in the report as a matter of bookkeeping, since a larger 
sum appears in the statement of expenditure for these same 
items. The province can better handle houses of correction, 
asylums, industrial schools, than can each municipality. It 
does so and taxes the municipalities and individuals for services 
rendered. 

The fourth is really interest from individuals and munici- 
palities for money advanced by the government, in connection 
with the Road Law, or money to be paid out by the government 
in pensions and such, or money handed back by hotels or others 
which was paid them in excess of their lawful claim, or which was 
granted for such a purpose and not paid out at all. 

A considerable part came from municipalities working under 
the Good Roads Act. By this act the government will lend 
money to construct permanent roads. The roads must be con- 
structed under the direction of government inspectors. The 
money is lent on a payment of a low rate of interest, originally 
two per cent. After this interest has been paid for a certain 
number of years, the principal debt is cancelled. The act pro- 
viding for this was passed in 191 1, and in 1916 was amended to 
require an interest payment of three per cent. 

On the main highways the government asked the munici- 
palities to provide one thousand dollars a mile, and the province 
supplied the rest. TJiis was only from ten to twenty-five per 
cent of the cost of the roads. Since 191 1, $15,280,000 has been 
spent on permanent carriage roads, and as a part of this has 
been lent to municipalities, the interest annually paid comes in as 
revenue. Any increase in this item of income means an extension 
of the funded debt. 

The income from lands and forests is likely to increase, but 
not greatly, from year to year, and the same is true of the rev- 
enues from mines and fisheries. 

The only source of extra revenue for the years to come seems 
to be in some form of taxation. There may be an increase in the 
rates charged for stamps, fees, and the like, and even at the 
present rates, natural expansion of business will give an annually 



Federal and Provincial Revenue 117 

increasing return, but no large revenue is possible from this 
source. 

The succession duties and taxes on corporations are really 
forms of direct taxations, though not always recognized as such. 
These are not high compared with other states and may be made 
to yield considerably more. 

It will be noticed that $1,047,768, or a little more than ten per 
cent of the money raised in 19 15-16, was paid by hotels, bars 
and licensed victuallers. Temperance legislation now pending 
is likely to diminish materially the income derived from this 
source. 

The Montreal Gazette of January 25, 1919, after giving the 
main items of income and expenditure for 191 7-18, made the 
following remark: 

It will be noticed that the increase of $2,365,277 in revenue over the 
previous year was due to the estate of the late Sir William Macdonald. 
Succession duties in one year to the amount of $4,736,547 will not come in 
the usual course of events for years to come, the ordinary figures running 
about a million and a half to a million and three-quarters. 

Then the revenue from liquor licenses will disappear altogether, chop- 
ping off over $800,000 per year. 

Allowing $2,000,000, however, as revenue to come per year from duties 
on succession, and reckoning on the expenditure of the year ending June 
30, 1 91 8, and counting in the $800,000 annual loss from liquor, the Pro- 
vincial Treasurer will have to raise an additional $3,536,547 in order to 
present the same surplus as he will present to the House next week, or 
$2,026,089 to make both ends meet. 

Mr. Mitchell 1 will be asked during the debate on the budget how it is 
proposed to get the needed money. There is nothing to indicate that 
expenditure can be cut. Agricultural estimates will likely go up again. 
The increases in expenditure is all along the line to meet demands which 
will continue, while the increase in income, which enabled these demands 
to be met, is due to the death of a wealthy man. 

There is no hope of increasing funds for education by cutting 
down other expenses. A comparison of the amounts spent during 
the last six years shows an almost uniform increase from year to 
year, except in the case of two of the smaller accounts, viz., 
Colonization, and Lands and Forests. 

Before taking up more in detail other possible ways of securing 
money for provincial purposes, I shall give a statement of the 

^ The Hon. Walter Mitchell, Provincial Treasurer.. 



Ii8 



School Funds in the Province of Quebec 



expenditure and indebtedness of the municipalities of the prov- 
ince in 1916, both for school and general purposes. 

Ordinary expenditures $29,501,492 

Extraordinary 25,154,175 

Total expenditures $54,655,667 

Liabilities: 

Debentures not redeemed $169,632,862 

Other loans and debts 25,598,888 

Total liabilities $195,231,750 

Of the total liabilities, $101,535,391 belong to the city of 
Montreal, and $145,850,289 to the "Greater Montreal," 
or to Hochelaga County. 
Expenditures for schools of money raised in the municipali- 
ties by ordinary and special taxes, tuition fees, and loans $14,844,241 .33I 

Liabilities of School Municipalities 27,672,366. 14 

Of the total liabilities, the Montreal Catholic Schools owe. . 4,985,325.44 

Protestants 4,98 1 ,623 . 57 

Combining municipal and school debt, there is in the province 
of Quebec a local debt of $91 per head of total population. In 
Ontario there is a debt of about $67 per head. The provincial 
debts of the two provinces per unit of population are: Quebec 
$15.60, Ontario $17.00. 

Debts and Assessed Value per Unit of Population Compared with 
Other Provinces and States^ 



Province or State 



Municipal Debt 
per Head 



Provincial or 
State per Head- 



Assessed Value 
of Property 
per Head 



Quebec 

Ontario 

United States . 

Maine 

Vermont 

New York . . . . 
New Jersey . . . 
Wisconsin . . . . 
California . . . . 
Massachusetts 



$91 .00 
67.00 
35-81 
28.42 
17.81 

107.71 
61.66 
1563 
51.18 
52.86 



515.60 
17.00 



■57 
,67 

58 
05 



0.24 

0.93 

3-83 

22.78 



$542 
654 
715 
550 
615 

1,146 

905 
1,019 

1,095 
1,353 



^ This does not include the government grant of $587,263.52, 

^ Canadian figures are from Municipal Statistics, Wood, Gundy & Co. United 

States figures from Wealth, Debt and Taxation, 1913. Sinking Funds have been 

deducted. 



Federal and Provincial Revenue 119 

No state, except New York, has as large a municipal debt as 
the province of Quebec, and no state except Massachusetts has 
as large a state debt. Both of these states have more than twice 
as much private wealth per unit of population as the province of 
Quebec. 

In studying these figures one must remember that some 
municipalities have valuable and productive assets to stand 
against these debts. These vary in different states and prov- 
inces. This taken together with the uneven valuation which is 
known to exist, makes it unsafe to base an argument on a 
comparison of this kind. 

These figures emphasize the fact that the provincial govern- 
ment has occupied a subordinate place in the financing of public 
enterprises, as much as possible having been left to the local 
community. In the early days this may have been well, but the 
time has come for a change. The government at Quebec realized 
this some years ago, and by the Roads Act, already mentioned, 
inaugurated a new principle. 

Up to that time roads were largely kept up by statute labor, 
and local taxes. All were interested in the roads, but many 
local sections did as little as possible to make them better. The 
advent of the motor car made it remarkably clear to the travelling 
public that a few pieces of good road, connected by miles of ruts 
and sunken highway, did not supply the opportunity for pleasure 
which they were seeking. Everyone complained about the roads 
as everyone complains about the schools, but not much was done 
until the government passed the laws of 191 1 and 1912. Since 
then, the road system of the province has been revolutionized, 
and no part of Canada is making such progress in permanent road 
construction. Municipalities that before were plunging through 
mud, one by one took advantage of the government's offer to 
lend them money at a nominal rate without sinking fund, or of 
the alternative offer, to raise fifty per cent themselves and receive 
the other fifty per cent from the government for construction 
and maintenance. 

What argument will apply to the question of roads that will 
not to schools? Looking at it purely as a matter of money, 
one must admit that the ignorant boy or girl is less efficient 
and low in earning power. He is also usually a greater 
danger to the country than a bad road. During the war just 



120 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

closed, we have seen in Russia and other countries how impossible 
it is to place facts before an ignorant population and have them 
act rationally. Like the untamed beast, their reactions are purely 
animal, and, untaught by history, uninspired by literature, unen- 
lightened by science, they become a prey to the demagogue and 
the charlatan, ready tools in the hands of scheming prelates and 
politicians, and through their ignorance delay the progress of their 
country for generations. 

It should not be left to a locality to say whether trunk roads 
should be good or bad. In Quebec the government, realizing 
this, demands only a small part of the expense of such road from 
the locality, and goes on to build and maintain the highway. In 
just as true a sense, it is more than a matter of local concern 
whether or not the children of the province are educated. 

Recently a study was made in a village school in this province 
of a class that had been in a lower grade ten years before. Not 
one had remained to complete the high school course, and not one 
was living in the local village. They had scattered to many 
parts of Canada and the United States. More of them were in 
Montreal than in any other one place. This is not an excep- 
tional case. The whole Dominion is interested in the education 
of every child in it. It is not a matter to leave to the local 
authorities, more or less progressive as they may be. 

Take the establishment of consolidated schools. Rate payers 
may put up all kinds of camouflage but the main reason that so 
few have been established is because the people are afraid of the 
cost. If the government would adopt the same policy in regard 
to consolidated schools as it has for the roads the problem would 
be solved. Here are the requirements and every one has been 
adopted in the Road Law: 

1 . A survey of the district by experts in the pay of the govern- 
ment. 

2. The locating of the (road) school by these experts in con- 
sultation with the local authorities. 

3. The building of the (road) school according to the plans 
submitted by the government, and under direction of their 
(inspector) architect. 

4. The payment of the (road) school either half by the govern- 
ment and half by the municipality, or by the municipality with 



Federal and Provincial Revenue 121 

money advanced by the government at a nominal rate of interest, 
two and one-half per cent or three per cent. 

5, The maintenance of the (road) school to be paid for half by 
each authority, under the supervision of a competent supervisor 
paid for and appointed by the government. 

This road policy of which the Quebec government is so justly 
proud, if applied to schools would do more to advance education 
than fifty years of coaxing and preaching. The disease is a 
financial one and the remedy is not to be found in the local 
community. 

One hears on every hand the lament that men teachers cannot 
be secured even for the more important schools, and that girls 
will not go to normal school to be trained for teachers, as they 
used to do. Why should they, when the same money spent in a 
business school will fit them for positions in which they can earn 
from thirty to one hundred dollars a month? When a man who 
has entered the teaching profession sees almost all of the boys 
with whom he went to college, and who were not his superiors in 
ability or character, receiving an income many times his own, 
when he with great difficulty saves enough money to buy his 
books, keep decently clothed and very moderately educate his 
family, when he realizes that his wife can never get those many 
comforts and refinements of life that her school chum has had, 
^nd that they both will never be able to travel in order to see the 
great wealth of art, preserved by older civilizations of the Eastern 
Hemisphere, and that all the money he could save in twenty 
years would not enable him to pay his son's way through the 
medical course in McGill University, he is not likely to advise any 
other boy to go into the business, or stay there himself if he can 
get another job. If anyone still thinks this is not a financial 
question, let him study carefully the salaries paid in the common 
schools of Quebec (page 96), examine the distributions of pen- 
sions actually paid to teachers (page 45), and the number of men 
in attendance at normal schools (page 98). 

Nor is this method of school support undemocratic. If democ- 
racy means anything, it means equal opportunity for all at the 
same cost. It has been the boast of Canadians during this war 
that we were a part of the most democratic empire the world has 
ever seen. It has been claimed by Canadians and not denied by 
many in the United States that Englishmen understand the real 



122 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

principles of democracy better than the people on this side of the 
water. This war has set the people of England thinking about 
many things, and most of all about their system of education. 
The results of this thinking have been in part expressed in the 
Fisher Educational Bill passed in the summer of 191 8, a bill 
recognizing the principle of compulsion from beginning to end. 
The compulsory age is raised to eighteen, and provisions are also 
made for adult education. Where is the money to come from? 
England wants this new act to be enforced and at once; and she 
has learned during this war that it is dangerous to wait several 
generations for what can be done in a year. She knows that she 
would first have to educate the people before they would know 
enough to tax themselves for further education. She has found 
out, too, that the hardy boys from the hills of Wales and the 
rocky shores of the north are as valuable to the Empire as the 
sons of the richer southern counties. To give all an equal chance 
the mother of parliaments passed a bill that will eventually 
require an annual grant of millions of dollars for education. 

The provinces of Canada can no longer remain behind. The 
excuse so often raised that the country is young and new and 
poor will no longer pass. No people have proved themselves 
more virile, none more ready to give of life and means. The 
Canadian boys in their glorious sacrifice in France and Flanders 
have placed Canada on the map. It is for those who have re- 
mained at home, to make the money, to provide the leadership, 
and to pay the taxes that will give to every province schools 
second to none in the world. 

Quebec has escaped some bad forms of taxation common to 
many states but no one would claim that the present system 
is suited to present-day conditions. The question of a separ- 
ation of state and local revenues has never come up here, be- 
cause the municipality was first in the field and holds for itself 
all direct taxes on immovable property. No tax has been 
placed on personal property tangible or intangible, and no mort- 
gage or hypothec can be placed on it. City and town munici- 
palities raise funds by various forms of the business tax, but 
they also depend mainly on the real estate tax. 

In 1915, Professor Edwin R. A. Seligman, of Columbia Univer- 
sity, in a paper before the National Tax Association said : ' ' Many 
of the expenditures of local communities ought to be defrayed by 



Federal and Provincial Revenue 123 

the state government. Even now, in several of our common- 
-vealths, state roads are being constructed throughout the local 
«.Iivisions because transportation is being recognized as affecting 
the interests of the whole state. But if certain roads ought to be 
state roads, and constructed at state expense, why should not 
certain schools be state schools and conducted at state expense? 
Education, like transportation, is more than a merely local 
matter." 

Federal Revenues 

The Canadian system of finance is based upon that of Britain. 
A Consolidated Fund, so-called, is established and to this all 
regular income is credited and out of it all regular expenditures 
paid. This fund does not include such matters as capital expen- 
diture, debt, account, etc. 

The ordinary revenue for 191 7 was $232,601,294, received from 
the following sources: 

Customs $134,043,842 . 14 

Excise 24,412,348.06 

Post Office 20,902,384 . 46 

Railways 23,539,758 .61 

Miscellaneous 29,702,960 . 73 

The expenditures during the same period were: 

Charges on debt $37,770,650 . 72 

Provincial Subsidies 11,469,148 .48 

Civil Government 6,466,358 . 63 

Public Works 8,663,095 . 80 

Defence 4,301 ,784 . 90 

Collection of Revenue 53,800,203 .09 

Other Items 26,158,101 .61 

Surplus 84,001 ,950 . 77 

On March 31, 1917, the net public debt was $879,186,298, an 
increase of $543,189,448 since 1914.^ 

At the close of demobilization in 1920, it is estimated that the 
Federal debt will be close to two billion dollars, seventy per cent 
of which has been raised by domestic loans. The annual pay- 
ment on interest will be about $90,000,000, or about sixty 
dollars for each family of five in Canada. 



^ The fiscal year closes March 31. 



124 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

The provincial governments receive from the Federal govern- 
ment eighty cents per head of population up to 2,500,000 people 
and sixty cents per head beyond that. These rates were settled 
through an amendment to the British North America Act passed 
in 1907. By the same revision British Columbia was to receive 
an additional $100,000 a year for ten years. By the revision of 
1912, Prince Edward Island was to have an additional grant of 
$100,000. When the boundaries of Manitoba were extended in 
191 2 an arrangement was made to increase her grant. Special 
grants are also made in compensation for lands and in lieu of debt. 
The subsidies from the Dominion to the provinces tend to increase 
more rapidly than population. From 1867 to 191 7 the total 
subsidies paid amounted to $262,376,185. From confederation 
to March 31, 1916, Quebec had received as subsidies, $56,719,934. 

Among the special purposes for which subsidies have been 
granted to one or more provinces the following are found: Al- 
lowance for government; interest on balance of debt; compensa- 
tion for lands granted to the Canadian Pacific Railway Company 
in the West; indemnity for loss of export duty on lumber; allow- 
ance for public buildings. 

An act passed the Canadian Parliament in 1913 (Geo. V. Cap 
5), which marks a great extension in, if not a departure from, the 
old principle of Dominion subsidies. By the terms of this act, 
appropriations are annually payable to each of the provincial 
governments for the encouragement of agriculture "through 
education, instruction and demonstration carried on along lines 
well devised and of a continuous nature." It was also to be used 
to assist veterinary colleges established in the provinces. The 
total amount for 1912-13 was to be $500,000, of which Quebec 
was to get $139,482; in 1913-14, $700,000, of which Quebec's 
share was $159,482; in 1914-15, $800,000, of which Quebec's 
share was $187,409.16. In 1916-17 Quebec received $243,212, 
and in 1917-18, $271,113. For all Canada $10,000,000 was to 
be appropriated between 1913 and 1923. For 1916, $900,000 
was to be available; for 1917, $1,000,000 and $1,110,000 annually 
between 191 8 and 1923. 

In the province of Quebec the fund is administered by the 
Department of Agriculture, and is used for various purposes as 
follows : 



Federal and Provincial Revenue 125 

TABLE XXXI 
Federal Subsidy, Quebec, 1915-16 

1. To encourage and assist Aviculture $15,000.00 

2. To encourage and assist Abonculture 33,000.00 

3. To encourage and assist the Bacon Industry 16,500.00 

4. Agricultural Schools 60,000.00 

5. Agricultural Instruction in Academies, Rural Schools and 

Normal Schools 13,500 . 00 

6. Salaries and expenses of District Agronomists 7,500.00 

7. Grant to Union Experimentale des Agriculteurs de Quebec. . 2,000.00 

8. Salaries and expenses in connection with demonstration 

fields for Lucern and Clover 4,000 .00 

9. Salaries and expenses in connection with instruction and 

experiment in seed selection 4,500 . 00 

10. Apiculture 9,000 . 00 

11. Dairy Industry: Expenses and salaries of inspectors of but- 

ter and cheese factories 125,000 . 00 

12. Drainage 1,000.00 

13. Grants to Domestic Science Schools 10,000 . 00 

14. Salaries, experiments and materials in connection with the 

making of maple sugar 4,000.00 

15. Travelling expenses, salaries and publications of lecturers. . . 10,310.70 

Total $215,310.70 

It appears as if the provinces will have to look more and more 
to the Dominion for funds to carry on government. Many do not 
like to acknowledge this, as they believe money received by way 
of a subsidy will be spent carelessly — "easy come, easy go." 
That may or may not be true. Certainly the present method 
tends in that direction. The provinces spend money freely; 
they try in various ways to raise money locally and then send a 
deputation to Ottawa to show the cabinet why their province 
should have special treatment. This is too much like the prodi- 
gal writing to the folks at home to help him out. If the provin- 
cial governments cultivate extravagant habits with the expecta- 
tion of being helped out of difficulties, no system could be worse. 

It is recognized by economists generally that a bonus given to 
wage earners is more carelessly spent, and not so beneficial as the 
same sum given as regular wages. A subsidy granted as an 
extra, after the budget of the year had been prepared, would be 
open to the same objection; but it need not be the case with an 
apportionment made on some proper basis and anticipated from 
year to year. The prejudice against such a source of provincial 



126 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

revenue comes from a knowledge of the history of spasmodic 
grants. A case in point is the distribution to the various Eastern 
States of fixed sums in Heu of land grants, and of the surplus in 
the United States Federal Treasury, which in 1836 was dis- 
tributed to the state governments. 

It is stated by some provincial statesmen that the Canadian 
federal grants for agricultural education have been misspent. 
This may well be the case. The amount of money given without 
previous preparation was at first large. The tendency was to 
place a premium on a quick expenditure of the money. The 
grant has only a tenure of ten years and it would not seem wise 
to build up too elaborate a structure with the possibility of having 
no money to support it at the end of ten years. This led in some 
provinces to a profligate distribution. But none of these things 
is a necessary part of Dominion appropriations. 

What is wanted is a permanent and elastic appropriation, 
something like that now granted by the Department of Public 
Instruction to school municipalities. The school municipality 
gets its regular revenue from three sources, local assessment, 
tuition fees and rates, and government grants. The money from 
government grants is not earmarked and spent more carelessly 
than the rest. No one ever heard of a local school trustee or 
commissioner paying a teacher a higher salary than necessary 
because the government grantwas generous. In what way does a 
regular income of this kind differ from income from endowment 
received and carefully administered by the trustees of colleges 
and universities all over the civilized world? How does it 
differ from money received by the government from its per- 
manent funds, or from investments with the Dominion govern- 
ment? Only in this, that endowments, investments, and per- 
manent funds yield regular income, and by no process of coaxing, 
threatening, or political wire pulling can they be made any 
greater. The Protestant Committee of Public Instruction for 
this province is not a taxing body, but certain lump sums are 
handed over to it to distribute annually to the schools under its 
direction. It has never been accused of administering the funds 
carelessly, or improvidently. 

There is no inherent difficulty in the principle of Dominion 
appropriations, and as soon as a fair, common-sense system is 
devised and adhered to, the prejudice against revenue so derived 



Federal and Provincial Revenue 127 

will disappear. But even if a perfect system could not at once 
be devised, the provinces are really forced to find a larger part 
of their revenue in this way. 

The balance between the taxing authorities and the spending 
authorities in Canada is not so nicely adjusted as it might have 
been. The real taxing power rests with the municipality on the 
one hand, and with the Federal government on the other, and 
this leaves the province between the two with no definite means 
of obtaining revenue. As a consequence, provincial secretaries 
and treasurers have had to devise all kinds of means to rake to- 
gether enough money to keep up the many and important public 
services for which they are responsible. When this is taken into 
consideration, it is not surprising that the provincial govern- 
ments have not provided a larger share of the expense of edu- 
cation. 

This condition might be remedied by the province assuming 
the right to levy a tax on property. Such a tax is levied in all 
or nearly all of the states of the Union. But this would destroy 
the separation of the sources of provincial and local revenue, 
which is one of the desirable things about our present system. 

Speaking on the separation of sources. Professor Seligman of 
Columbia University says : 

The separation of state and local revenues is therefore a matter of 
vital importance in the American commonwealths of to-day. Not so 
much because it forms in itself any solution of the problem, but because it 
is the indispensable initial step to any substantial progress. The separa- 
tion of state and local revenues is not a cure, but it alone will make a cure 
possible. It is from this point of view that we must address ourselves to 
the problem. 

What will be gained by the separation of state and local revenues is 
that the state revenues will no longer be collected from the same source 
and in the same manner as the local revenues. It means practically 
that there should be no state tax rate on general property added to the 
local tax rate through the process of apportioning state expenditures 
among the localities according to the assessed valuation. And it implies 
as a corollary that some other method of securing the state revenues be 
devised.^ 

If the principle of permanent and greatly increased subsidies 
is not worked out satisfactorily, the provincial government could 

^ Report of the National Tax Association, 191 5. 



128 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

call on all municipalities to levy, with their other taxes, one or 
two mills for provincial revenues. This might take the form of 
a special levy for school support and be distributed on some equi- 
table basis. There is such a law in Maine and in New Jersey, 
and Massachusetts is likely to provide a state mill tax for school 
support at an early date. Another objection to this form of 
taxation, in addition to that raised by Dr. Seligman, is that it 
places a greater burden on immovable property. Real estate 
owners have borne the burden of taxation up until now with a 
good degree of patience. It is becoming better known, however, 
that an ever increasing proportion of wealth is in the form of 
personal property, tangible and intangible. 

If the provincial government were authorized to levy a tax 
on real property, common fairness would demand that all other 
forms of wealth be taxed also. This would again violate one of 
the best principles of our present system. Economists are 
agreed that a personal property tax is one of the worst taxes ever 
instituted, and progressive states like Wisconsin have abandoned 
such a tax rather than ask the people to submit to the unfair 
levy which always results. One can quote almost at random 
from economists in support of this statement. 

The Nebraska Special Commission on Revenue and Taxation, 
reported in 19 14 as follows of the general property tax: 

It is unsound in theory because it assumes that tax-paying ability 
increases in exact proportion to the amount of property owned, while it is 
generally true, other things being equal, that a man's ability to bear 
public burdens increases more rapidly than the size of his accumulations. 
This principle is recognized in the taxation of incomes by making liberal 
exemptions and by applying progressive rates to the higher incomes. If 
taxes are to be imposed on the basis of possessions, there is no logical 
reason why higher rates should not be laid on large accumulations of 
wealth; though as a matter of practice in administrStion small accumula- 
tions bear a heavier burden proportionately than the larger ones. 

It assumes a constant ratio between the value of the property in a con- 
cern and its earning capacity. The falseness of the assumption is clearly 
seen in such monopolistic undertakings as the express business where the 
value of the property employed is no index of income. But in competitive 
business wide differences exist between the value of the property used and 
the income derived. The recognition of this fact has led taxing authorities 
to seek ways of reaching the "intangible" or "franchise" value connected 
with prosperous business, not shown in the value of the tangible property. 



Federal and Provincial Revenue 129 

Again there are large classes of persons in the profession and in business, 
who employ relatively little capital while enjoying comfortable incomes, 
and under our present system escape their just share of the tax burden. 

I now quote again from the paper by Professor Seligman. 
What is stated of the United States is also largely true to-day of 
Canada. In condemning the personal property tax, Dr. Selig- 
man throws some light on the general problem of taxation, 
supports the principle of more provincial aid for education, states 
his strong belief in a separation of the sources of state and local 
revenue, and opens the way for a discussion of the income tax. 

The discontent with the conditions of American taxation is growing 
apace. The reason is not far to seek. On the one hand, the development 
of industrial democracy is everywhere creating greater demands upon the 
public purse for a collective action which shall be in the interests of the 
entire community; on the other hand, the growth of prosperity and the 
transition from more primitive economic conditions to those of a com- 
plex industrial society are rendering more and more inadequate the fiscal 
basis and the fiscal machinery which have been bequeathed to us by our 
ancestors. Thus at both ends the pressure is felt. The fiscal needs are 
multiplied and are growing, and the old forms of revenue are no longer 
suitable. Hence, the pressure of public needs upon public resources. 

It would be a mistake, however, to suppose that the public resources are 
in themselves inadequate. The fault does not lie with the social income. 
National prosperity is great and growing, and the increase of wealth and 
of social income is proceeding unchecked. Were our state and local 
resources marshalled and organized for fiscal purposes as is done by the 
national government, the embarrassment would soon vanish. 

What, then, are the chief difficulties in our tax system which are coming 
more and more to be recognized everywhere throughout the length and 
breadth of the land? I should sum them up under eight heads. First 
and foremost is the breakdown of the general property tax, which is almost 
everywhere still the chief reliance of state and local government. The 
general property tax works well only amid most primitive economic 
conditions for which alone it was calculated. . . . 

The administration of the general property tax is everywhere attended 
with increasing difficulty, and in our large industrial centres it has become, 
to use the words of a recent tax report, "A howling farce." 

Second, a growing lack of equality in tax burdens, not only as between 
classes in the community, but as between individuals of the same class. 
Where land, for instance, is assessed at 20 per cent of its value in certain 
counties, and at 80 per cent or 100 per cent in other counties, it is obvious 
that the contribution to the state tax is grossly unequal and unfair. 
9 



130 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

Third, the application to general purposes of what was intended to be 
only a local revenue. All direct taxation was originally local in character, 
and the assessment of property for local taxation was at the outset a com- 
paratively simple matter. When need for state revenue made itself felt, 
it was obviously expedient to tack on to this local taxation a quota for 
general purposes. But with the great development of state functions, 
and with the breakdown of the local barriers of commerce and industry, 
what was originally equal soon turned into inequality, and the attempt 
to fetter interlocal or even interstate business conditions by the bonds of 
purely local assessment has proved to be a fruitful source of difficulty. 

Fourth, the failure to make modern corporations bear their fair share of 
taxation. The corporation is a growth of the last half century. It was 
unknown when the present framework of our tax system was established. 
The attempt to force the new wine into the old bottles is not only spoiling 
the wine, but cracking the bottles. 

Fifth, the failure to secure adequate compensation from individuals 
and corporations alike for the franchises and privileges that are granted 
by the community. . . . 

Sixth, the undue burden cast upon the farmer. 

Seventh, the interference with business, due to the partial and spas- 
modic enforcement of antiquated laws. 

. . . Over a century ago Alexander Hamilton, in his famous report 
on manufactures, stated this golden maxim: "All taxes which proceed 
according to the amount of capital supposed to be employed in a business, 
are inevitably hurtful to industry and ought carefully to be avoided by a 
government which desires to promote it." . . . 

Eighth, the failure to make great wealth contribute its due share. 
In former times, where property was fairly equally distributed and con- 
ditions simple, inequalities in tax burdens were slight and unperceived. 
Before the huge aggregations of modern wealth, the crude tax machinery of 
earlier days stands impotent. And yet we hug ourselves with the delusion 
that all that is necessary is to patch up the old machinery, whereas what 
really is needed is to throw the old machinery on the scrap heap and to 
utilize entirely new and modern instruments and processes. 

Three things stand out increasingly clear. First, we do not want 
to inaugurate in the province a personal property tax. Second, 
we want to keep the excellent system of separation-of-sources 
of local and provincial revenues. Third, we do not want to 
throw an increasing proportion of taxation on real estate owners, 
but want rather to seek out new and untaxed forms of wealth. 

Of late years much has been said for and against raising 
money by a tax on income. At first sight such a tax appears to 
be just. It scarcely needs proof to satisfy any one that a man is, 



Federal and Provincial Revenue 131 

in a general way, able to pay taxes in proportion to the income he 
receives. Real estate may be producing no revenue, and its 
owner may be forced to borrow money to pay his tax, but the 
man who has the income simply has the money, and can pay his 
percentage if required to do so. The purpose of a tax is to pro- 
vide revenue, and the man who has the money coming in, is the 
man to whom one would naturally look for taxes. 

A tax to be successful must be assessed according to ability to 
pay; it must have some relation to protection afforded; it must 
be fairly and equally assessed ; it must be sure and sufficient for 
the purpose, and it must be capable of a convenient and inex- 
pensive collection. The income tax is reasonable, just, conven- 
ient and sufficient, but it is exceedingly difficult to administer in 
such a way as to bear fairly on the honest and the dishonest. 
It has proved an easy tax to evade, and for many decades has 
fallen into disrepute on this continent. In England it is one of the 
main sources of revenue, and is efificiently administered. A 
large part is collected at the source, and evasion thus made diffi- 
cult. In the United States, Wisconsin in 191 1 and Massachusetts 
in 191 5 placed laws on the statute books that have been capable 
of very efficient administration. 

The United States has also enacted a federal income tax law, 
which is being actively carried out and is productive of large and 
increasing revenues. 

In 1917 the government of Canada passed legislation providing 
for a Dominion income tax, but as yet it has not been put into 
full operation. It was amended in 1918. 

The Special Commission of Revenue and Taxation for 
Nebraska, in 1914, reported as follows in regard to income tax: 

The successful operation of the income tax in European countries for 
many years has long attracted the attention of students of taxation in the 
United States. England has had an income tax in continuous operation 
since 1842 which now yields one hundred and eighty or one hundred and 
ninety million dollars annually, or nearly one quarter of the imperial rev- 
enue, and more than a quarter of the tax revenue. Italy, Austria, and 
nearly all the German states make use of this method of taxation. The 
Federal government resorted to it during the Civil War, was kept from 
employing it in 1894 only by a supreme court decision declaring the tax 
a direct one,^ and since the adoption of the sixteenth amendment, has 

^ The United States federal government was forbidden by the Constitu- 
tion to levy a direct tax. 



132 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

once more made it a part of the Federal revenue system. Moreover, about 
twenty states at one time or another have levied taxes on incomes though 
generally with such poor success that till recently it has been generally 
discountenanced as a state tax. 

The merits of the income tax are unquestioned. Among people well 
advanced industrially it is an essential aid in bringing about an equitable 
apportionment of the tax burden. As a test of ability it is a fairer basis 
than the value of property upon which the property tax rests for the 
reasons pointed out elsewhere that all kinds of property are not equally 
productive and not equally indicative of the ability of the citizen to pay 
taxes. In the second place, it is needed to reach that considerable class of 
persons in each community who enjoy an income out of all proportion to 
the property owned. And again it is desirable as a substitute for the 
troublesome personal property tax. 

That no greater progress has been made with this form of taxation in the 
American states is not due to any defect in the theory of the tax, but to 
the practical difificulties inherent in its administration and to defects in 
administrative machinery that can be removed. As before stated, a 
score of states have had experience with this form of tax with such uni- 
formly poor success that it had become axiomatic in discussions of fiscal 
policy that it was an impossible tax for the states to administer. Only 
the long arm of the Federal government could be relied upon to reach 
reluctant taxpayers. In 191 1, the state of Wisconsin after long con- 
sideration of the measure, passed an income tax law that has to all appear- 
ances worked successfully. That experience encourages the confident 
belief that other states may, by providing adequate administrative 
machinery and manning it with the right kind of officers, also adopt this 
highly desirable form of tax. 

It is of interest to notice that in Wisconsin almost the whole 
tax has been paid by cities and towns. Eighty per cent of the tax 
came from the seventeen counties having the largest cities while 
the remaining 20 per cent came from fifty-four counties, which con- 
tained 50 per cent of the population. The average rate levied on 
corporations was 5.4 per cent; on persons and firms, a little less 
than 2 per cent. About 2 per cent of the total population of the 
state were on the income tax roll in 1913, viz., 46,582 out of a pop- 
ulation of 2,333,000. The proceeds of the tax are distributed as 
follows: 10 per cent to the state; 20 per cent to the county; and 
70 per cent to the local municipality in which it was collected. 

One of the newest state income laws is that passed by Massa- 
chusetts and put into force in 1917. This law was an attempt to 
substitute something better for the personal property tax, espe- 



Federal and Provincial Revenue 133 

cially the tax on money, credits, etc. It consequently provides a 
6 per cent tax on all income of this kind down to the person whose 
income is $600 from all sources. Business income has a uniform tax 
of i^ per cent, and allows an exemption of $2,000 for single persons 
and as high as $3,000 for a man with wife and children. About 
200,000 persons made returns of income in 1917, $12,000,000 tax 
was levied, 94 per cent of which was paid promptly. Tested by 
ability to produce the income required, the act has been a success. 
Henry H. Bond, of the department of the Tax Commission, 
estimates that by the income tax, $4,000,000 more was raised in 
1917 than by the personal tax law which it superseded. An 
organization of fifty-five men appointed by and under the 
direction of the tax commissioner gives its whole time to the 
work. There is one central and ten branch offices, and at these 
are received the compulsory returns of taxpayers. Every effort 
is made to keep reports of incomes from being disclosed. In 
addition to the compulsory returns, provision is made to secure 
information at source from employers, corporations, etc., such 
information as salaries, interest dividends, lists of stockholders, 
etc. That this part of the act has worked successfully is shown 
by the fact that the commission received 20,000 reports of infor- 
mation-at-source and 10,000 such reports which contained lists 
of probable taxpayers were investigated in 191 7. During the 
first year only three cases had been taken to the courts and 
these were to test out questions in the law itself. The cost of 
administration during the first year was about $300,000, or 2.48 
per cent on the amount collected. 

In any study of income tax, the three things people generally 
are concerned about are the exemption limit, the rate of the tax, 
and the rate of progression. 

Exemption limits in different places are as follows : 

England $800 

Holland 260 

Prussia 225 

Austria 213 

Italy 77 

Wisconsin 800 to $1,200 

Massachusetts 2,000 to 3,000 

U, S. Bill of 1913 3,000 to 4,000 

U. S. Bill of 1917 1,000 to 2,000 

U. S. Bill of 1918 1,000 to 2,000 

Canada, 1918 1,200 to 3,000 



134 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

The basal tax by the United States law of 191 3 was i per cent; 
by law of 1916, 2 per cent; by the act of 1917, 4 per cent; by act of 
1918, 6 per cent. 

By the act of 191 7 the surtax in the United States was made as 
follows: PerCeni 

$5,000- 7,500 I 

7,500- 10,000 2 

10,000- 12,500 3 

12,000- 15,000 4 

15,000- 20,000 5 

20,000- 40,000 8 

40,000- 60,000 12 

60,000- 80,000 17 

80,000- 100,000 22 

100,000- 150,000 27 

150,000- 200,000 31 

200,000- 250,000 37 

250,000- 300,000 42 

300,000- 500,000 46 

500,000- 750,000 50 

750,000- 1,000,000 55 

1,000,000-15,000,000 61 

15,000,000-20,000,000 62 

Over 20,000,000 63 

After adding to each of these the base tax of 4 per cent one has 
the actual per cent on each grade of income. 

The Canadian Income Tax of 1917 with amendment of 1918 
was as follows: Per Cent 

On incomes from $1,000 to $1,500 of those without dependents 2 

On incomes from $2,000 to $3,000 of those with dependents 2 

On incomes above $1,500 of those without dependents 4 

On incomes above $3,000 of those with dependents 4 



following 


supertax: 


Per Cent 


$6,000- 


10,000 


2 


10,000- 


28,000 


5 


20,000- 


30,000 


8 


30,000- 


50,000 


10 


50,000- 


75.000 


15 


75,000- 


100,000 


20 


100,000- 


200,000 


25 


200,000- 


400,000 


. . . 36 


400,000- 


600,000 


35 


600,000- 


800,000 


40 


800,000-1 


,000,000 


45 


1 ,000,000 and over 


50 



Federal and Provincial Revenue 135 

Also a further surtax, as follows, the percentage being figured 
on the basal tax and the supertax as above: 

Per Cent 

On Incomes from $6,000 to $10,000 5 

On incomes from $10,000 to $100,000 10 

On incomes from $100,000 to $200,000 15 

On incomes from $200,000 and above 35 

Corporations are required to pay 6 per cent on incomes exceed- 
ing $6,000, but are not liable for any supertax or surtax. 
The following incomes are exempt from taxation : 

1. Income of the Governor-General of Canada. 

2. Incomes of consul and consul-generals staffs, who are not engaged in any 

other business and are citizens of the country they represent. 

3. The income of a corporation, not less than 90 per cent of the stock of 

which is owned by a province or municipality. 

4. The incomes of any religious, charitable, agricultural and educational 

institutions, boards of trade, and chambers of commerce. 

5. The incomes of labor organizations and benevolent and fraternal societies. 

6. The incomes of mutual corporations not having a capital represented by 

shares, no part of the income of which may bring profit to the members. 

7. The incomes of all clubs, etc., organized and operated solely for social 

welfare. 

8. The income of such insurance, mortgage and loan associations operated 

entirely for the benefit of the farmer, as are approved by the minister 
of finance. 

9. The income derived from any bonds of the Dominion of Canada, issued 

exempt from any income tax. 
10. The military and naval pay of officers who have been on active service 
overseas during the present war in any of the military or naval forces 
of the Empire or the Allies. 

An income tax will never take the place of a tax on real estate 
or of indirect taxes. Immovable property will always owe the 
state for its protection, and a tax upon it will always be easy to 
collect and relatively easy to equalize. Indirect taxes, such as 
custom and excise duties, will be used less and less for protective 
purposes, but not less for purely revenue purposes. In no other 
way can the great mass of the population be reached. Every 
person should provide a part of the public revenue ; government 
is a partnership affair, and it is neither good for the individual 
nor just to the other members of the group that certain classes 
should be tax free. To collect an income tax from all income 
earners would be absurd, for it would cost more to collect small 
taxes than they are worth. An indirect tax on some widely used 



136 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

articles like sugar, tea, coffee, is borne by all groups, and gives all 
a share in the support of group activities. 

The United States Income Tax is a good illustration of the nar- 
row distribution of such a tax. The returns for 1916 published in 
August, 1918, show that out of a population of 100,000,000, only 
437,000 persons came under the tax. These paid $173,000,000 
on incomes of $6,300,000,000, an average of about 2.77 per cent. 
As the exemption limit during the period reported on was $3,000, 
this means that less than one half of one per cent of the popula- 
tion had incomes of $3,000 or more. If one person in five receives 
an income, there were 20,000,000 incomes in the United States, 
and of these 19,563,000 were below $3,000.^ 

In England, when the exemption limit was $800, only one per 
cent of the population paid an income tax; only about five per 
cent of the incomes were above $800, if it is considered that one 
in five is an earner. 

These figures show that wealth and profits are very unevenly 
distributed, that an income tax only interests a small percentage 
of the population, and that it could never be used as the one 
method of raising a revenue, but only as one of the best among 
several. 

In the United States a special committee was appointed by the 
National Tax Association to prepare a model system of state 
taxation. Professors Charles J. Bullock, of Harvard, and 
Thomas S. Adams, of Yale, were on this committee. In their 
report, which was to have been submitted to the Twelfth Annual 
Conference,^ an income tax is strongly recommended as one of 
the methods by which public funds should be secured. Those 
interested in the question should read this and other reports of 
the National Tax Association. 

One by one the leading economists of the country have been 
more strongly favoring the income tax. Professor Bullock, with 
his judicial mind, has not admitted that this form of tax is per se 

1 United States returns for 19 17 made public in Oct. 1919, show the following: 

A total of $675,249,450 was collected on an income reported of $13, 652,383,- 
207. There were $3,472,890 personal returns filed, 47 per cent representing 
a net income of from $1,000 to $2,000. Three hundred and fifteen returns 
showed net incomes of from $500,000 to $1,000,000 and one hundred and 
forty-one returns, net incomes of over $1,000,000. 

The average tax per individual was $368.56, and the average tax rate 6.03 
per cent on net income. 

* The Twelfth Annual Conference was to have been held at St. Louis, 
November 12-15, 1918, but was postponed on account of Spanish influenza. 



Federal and Provincial Revenue 137 

easier to administer than the property tax. The experiences of 
Wisconsin and Massachusetts, however, have impressed him 
strongly.^ 

Professor SeHgman, of Columbia University, had been for some 
time the one outstanding economist who was unconvinced. In 
191 5 in his annual address as president of the National Tax 
Association, Dr. Seligman expressed himself in these words: 

What then is this better remedy, and what is the next step for a state 
like New York? I have no hesitation at the present time in answering the 
substitution of income for property as the basis of taxation. 

This will perhaps come to many of you as a surprise from one who has 
uniformly resisted the introduction of a state income tax in the United 
States. I must beg, however, that you will remember several things. 
In the first place. I have now, for more than twenty years, been striving, 
as best I could, to call attention to the shortcomings of property as a 
theoretical basis of taxpaying ability. In the second place, I have always 
advocated the policy of taxation on a net receipt or income basis. Third, 
I have always been in favor of a federal income tax in general and have 
contributed my modest share towards the elaboration of the present 
act. . . . 

I think it may be stated, without fear of contradiction, that the income 
tax has come to stay and that in principle it is not seriously opposed by 
the community. 

There are many people in Canada who have not favored the 
income tax. It is not easy to convince these people that such a tax 
is just, workable, and capable of producing the income required. 
There are only two methods of proof outside of actual experience, 
viz., by investigating the working and results of such a law in 
other places, and by studying the opinions and arguments of men 
who have made taxation a lifelong study. 

These two kinds of proof I have tried to present, and with 
sufficient elaboration to force conviction. 

All of the Canadian provinces must have increased revenue, and 
the great problem of provincial legislators is now and has always 
been how to secure sufficient money to carry on the different de- 
partments of government. To summarize, this is the situation: 

By an understanding with the Dominion government no 
income tax is to be levied by the province. The privilege of 

^ Report of the National Tax Association, 191 7. 



138 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

levying an ad valorem tax on property rests alone with the local 
municipality. Special taxes on corporations cannot be greatly 
increased in view of the new Federal Income and Business Tax. 
Succession duties and the like cannot expand rapidly enough to 
supply the increasing demands. Finally, a federal tax is more 
democratic than any other and the one course open is to secure 
larger appropriations from the Dominion. 

This view is supported by different Canadian authorities. In 
its report to the Canadian government in 1913, the Royal Com- 
mission on Industrial Training and Technical Education^ recom- 
mended as follows : 

The industrial efificiency of the individual worker is of value not merely 
to himself, to the particular trade at which he works, to the community 
in which he lives, but also to the nation as a whole. Moreover, the 
facilities for travel and the frequent change of residence, indicate that, 
while the individual would obtain the benefit of industrial training and 
technical education in one locality, he might follow his occupation in 
another that might be far distant. That would be the more common 
and likely because of the large and rapid growth and development of 
Canada. 

The very considerable increase in the population of Canada by immigra- 
tion is throwing additional burdens for elementary education upon the 
communities and the province. The enhanced public revenues, due to 
growth by immigration, go, in a large measure, into the Dominion ex- 
chequer. The increase of the volume of trade brings in larger amounts 
through the customs offices. This would indicate that the new financial 
responsibility and burdens for industrial training and technical education, 
on a scale large enough and generous enough to be available to all the 
people between the ages of 14 and 18, should be sustained in large measure 
by funds from the Dominion Government. 

In a recent issue of the Montreal Star, President Cutten, of 
Acadia University, Nova Scotia, gives his opinion on federal aid 
to education in the following words : 

"The time has come for the Dominion to take a more active interest in 
education. Grants should be made to all the provinces for general 
education, and must be if the provinces are to do effective work. Through 
the medium of these grants the work in the different provinces could be 
articulated and standardized and improved. The value of this could not 
be overestimated, and while leaving the provinces, as at present, in control 

1 Professor James W. Robertson was chairman of this commission. 



Federal and Provincial Revenue 139 

of this education, aid of great value would be rendered by advice and 
suggestion." 

The principle of federal aid has recently received strong sup- 
port in the United States from the commission on the "National 
Emergency in Education," etc., appointed by the National 
Education Association. Dr. George D. Strayer, president of the 
association, is chairman of this commission and its findings come 
with unusual authority. In Commission Series No. i, the 
statement is made: 

"The rural and village schools are by far the weakest links in the edu- 
cational chain. There is no way in which these links can be strengthened 
save through expenditures vastly greater than the local communities can 
supply. General state taxation has already proved itself inadequate to a 
solution of the problem on a national scale. The welfare of the nation 
itself is more intimately bound up with the intelligence of that majority 
of its children now enrolled in the rural and village schools than with 
any other single factor. Federal Cooperation in the support and development 
of rural education is clearly and unequivocally the only solution of the prob- 
lem." 

In Canada, two problems now appear for solution: First, 
where will the Dominion find this money, and, second, how will 
it be distributed to the provinces. Were Quebec the only prov- 
ince interested, It would answer the purpose for the federal gov- 
ernment to levy for the Quebec government an extra tax of one 
or two per cent on all income returned by the inhabitants of this 
province. No doubt such an arrangement might be made by the 
province paying its proportion of the expense of collections. 
But all the provinces are equally interested, and there are many 
reasons why the better plan would be for the Dominion govern- 
ment to provide the money directly. 

As the federal revenues become adjusted to after-war condi- 
tions, the Dominion government might well continue the income 
tax solely for purposes of education, administering part of it and 
handing the balance over to the provinces. This would do away 
with much of the objection to the tax, and throw the increasing 
burden of education upon the group best able to support it. 

Some advantages of the last named method are these : 

I. Education is a Dominion-wide concern and not only a pro- 
vincial matter. People from the Maritime Provinces come in 



140 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

thousands to Central Canada and the West, and the youth of 
Central Canada are continually moving to the Middle and Far 
West. Manitoba is vitally concerned in the education given in 
New Brunswick. Not only this but the Eastern Provinces have 
been sending larger numbers of teachers west and thus the East 
is directly moulding the young life of the West. 

2. It is only democratic that one province should help another 
bear its burdens. If the interests of all are common, there should 
be an equalizing of burdens and of opportunities. Attention has 
already been called to the contrast between British Columbia and 
Prince Edward Island in the number of children under twenty 
years of age (page 67) ; also of the taxable property per unit of 
population in British Columbia as compared with Nova Scotia 
(page 71). The population of Prince Edward Island between 
1901 and 191 1 decreased 9,531, while British Columbia increased 
213,823. Prince Edward Island showed a decrease of about 
9 per cent, and British Columbia an increase of almost 120 
per cent. 

What happened was that the children Prince Edward had 
raised to years of maturity and educated more or less thoroughly, 
did not remain to repay their native province for their nurture, 
but went west to add their contribution to the wealth of the West. 
Neither did they return when old to their native province to 
spend their money and their old age on the little island where 
they first saw light. I have used these two provinces simply as 
examples. No one can change this movement of population, 
no one wants to; but if one throws aside all local prejudice, and 
looks at the question fairly, one is forced to admit that any sys- 
tem which would permit the richer parts of Canada to aid in 
educating the children of those provinces not so richly endowed 
with natural resources, is not only desirable, but any other system 
is undemocratic and unjust. 

3. If the additional money needed is to be raised by an income 
tax, there are very decided advantages in having it collected 
by the central government. 

First, it saves duplication of administrative machinery. In 
order that the tax be successful, there must be a fearless and 
competent commissioner and staff. In Massachusetts, as 
already stated, a staff of fifty-five men was kept constantly busy 
and ten offices were kept up in different centres of the state. 



Federal and Provincial Revenue 141 

Canada can scarcely expect to carry out her law effectively with 
less proportionate expense. 

Second, it is a fairer tax, as much income, especially that 
derived from such property as railways and companies with 
branches in different provinces, does not belong to any one 
province, but to the Dominion as a whole. 

Third, the central government can become a much more effi- 
cient collector, A Dominion official can put the spirit of dread 
into a prospective taxpayer much better than a local assessor, 
and also better than an officer of the provincial government. 
This principle is generally recognized, and as the greatest diffi- 
culty with the income tax in the past has been in its administration, 
this is a most important matter. People generally stand in some 
awe of the customs house officers, and do not take many chances 
with them. There must be the same awe of the income tax col- 
lector, if the tax is not to be evaded. 

Although the Canadian Income Tax Law has been in force for 
almost a year, no complete returns have been made, and one can 
only roughly estimate what will be the amount of income taxed. 
According to a recent report of the Dominion statistician, the 
national wealth of Canada is not far below seventeen billion dol- 
lars, and the national annual income about two and one half 
billion. The income of the 1,628,273 persons estimated as earn- 
ing salaries and wages is put at $881,283,300 for 191 1, or an 
average of about $540 each. There remains a large number who 
are working for themselves, and receiving the income in the form 
of profits. The number of these is estimated at 1,300,000, and 
their income for 191 1 was put at $900 each. In the seven years 
since the census, incomes have gradually increased. By esti- 
mating the first group at $650 a year, and the last group at 
$1,100 a year we have an annual income of $2,488,377,450. 
Only a small part of this income will be liable for income tax. 

In 1912 the Bureau of the Census, Washington, estimated the 
national wealth of the United States at 187 billion. During the 
period 1 904-1912 the income increased on the average of about 
ten millions a year. The national wealth for 191 8 must be at 
least two hundred and seventy billions, or about sixteen times 
as great as that of Canada. If we take it for granted that income 
is in proportion to national wealth, and that the distribution is 
about the same in the two countries, Canada might expect, under 



142 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

the same law, to realize about one sixteenth as much from her 
income tax as did the United States. 

In 19 1 6 the United States collected one hundred and seventy- 
.three million. On this basis Canada would collect a little less 
than eleven million.^ A sum fully as large as this would be needed 
to bring about the results in education advocated in this chapter. 
This amount would be in about the same proportion per unit of 
population as that proposed for the United States by the Smith- 
Towner bill. 

Another problem that comes up before this question is finally 
disposed of is: Should the Dominion government hand this 
money over to the provinces with very general directions as to its 
destination, or would it be better that specific instructions be 
given in regard to its use, and a penalty of forfeiture inflicted 
for non-fulfilment of the terms? 

The Dominion now grants annually $1,100,000 to the provinces 
for purposes of agricultural education. In the case of this grant, 
the instructions are very general, and the federal government 
leaves the spending of the money in the hands of the provincial 
authorities. It has not worked particularly well. The money 
in Quebec has been handled by the department of agriculture, 
whose officials had neither training nor experience in educational 
administration. A statement of the expenditure of the grant is 
printed in the public accounts year by year, and a study of these 
leaves one in doubt as to whether or not the money has been 
placed where it has done the most good. (See page 125). 

I believe strongly that the grant should be made on such con- 
ditions as the following: 

I. Before any money whatever is spent, a comprehensive 
scheme of improvement should be worked out by the provincial 
and federal authorities in consultation with the heads of the 
Departments of Public Instruction^ and carefully chosen experts 
in the field of educational administration. 



^ Since the above was written a letter from the Federal Commissioner of 
Taxation dated Oct. 28, 19 19, states: " Up to the 20th instant for the year 
1917 there have been issued 51,874 assessments, aggregating $12,296,889.91, of 
which 47,740 aggregating $ii ,128,625.60 have been paid. The balance is being 
collected gradually. 

* Unfortunately, the Council of Public Instruction in the province of Quebec 
is really a parliament consisting of fifty-nine members, thirty-seven forming 
the Catholic Committee and twenty-two, the Protestant Committee. This 
is far from the ideal but it is not within the domain of this paper to deal with 
the situation. 



Federal and Provincial Revenue 143 

2. The money appropriated should be administered by the 
Department of Education in the several provinces, and any 
money not expended each year should be held over and added to 
the amount available for succeeding years. 

3. The money provided should be for the benefit of public 
education in the elementary and secondary grades, including 
vocational training for students of these grades. 

4. All municipalities benefitting should be required to main- 
tain their schools free to all pupils in all grades. 

5. No money from the fund should be used for the aid of 
schools that have not thoroughly qualified and licensed teachers. 

6. The first claim on the fund should be to secure by means of 
bonuses or otherwise, the training of teachers in sufficient num- 
bers to supply the demands of the schools. 

7. The second claim should be to provide competent and 
specially trained inspectors or supervisors in such numbers as to 
be in constant touch with the schools in their territory. 

8. The third claim should be for the aid of those municipalities 
where the tax rate on real estate for general and school purposes 
is excessive: say over 5 mills on the dollar, after the assessments 
have been equalized and brought up to the actual cash value. 

9. The fourth claim should be for the establishment and main- 
tenance of consolidated schools. No grants whatever from 
this fund should be given to municipalities that refuse to estab- 
lish consolidated schools within their territory after the inspector 
and the head of the Department of Public Instruction have 
recommended that such schools be built. 

10. No French school should receive a grant that does not 
provide instruction in English reading and conversation in all 
grades above grade two, and no English school should receive 
a grant that does not provide instruction in French reading and 
conversation in all grades above grade two. 

11. In no case should the grant to a municipality be in excess 
of the sum raised locally, and in most cases the province should 
raise at least as much for each specific purpose as the Dominion 
grant. 

12. Before any of this appropriation could be devoted to any 
other purpose than those named, the unanimous consent should 
be obtained of a committee representing all the provinces, or,^of 
the Federal board, if one is formed. 



144 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

Upon first thought one might think it better to allow the 
local authorities to have full charge of elementary and secondary 
schools, and to call on the Federal government for aid in higher 
technical schools and universities. It may well be claimed 
that these higher schools are national already. McGill Uni- 
versity and Toronto University, for instance, draw students 
from every part of Canada and are national in every sense, 
except in control and support. The large provincial grants that 
now go to all such institutions could be diverted to the primary 
and secondary schools, and federal aid could make up the loss to 
the first named institutions. This could be done, and it is in 
harmony with the principle already recognized by the Dominion 
government, in the special grant to agricultural and veterinary 
schools. But there are very great advantages in giving the grants 
to the Department of Public Instruction for the support of schools 
under commissioners and trustees : 

1. The absence of higher technical schools or universities in a 
province need not be a great drawback. Only a few students, 
at best, go to such schools, and in such forms of education there 
is complete freedom. Many students from the Maritime Prov- 
inces come to McGill and Laval every year. Toronto University 
numbers its students from the West by hundreds. Three or four 
great universities would be as good if not better than the twenty 
universities now established for the eight million people in Can- 
ada, and a few higher technical schools in affiliation with the uni- 
versities would give the leadership in these directions. Large 
numbers of our students will go to Europe and the United States 
for their graduate work, no matter how many home universities 
are established. Then for this particular kind of education there 
is no need of an equalization. A poor province can simply let 
such education alone, and allow the richer provinces to supply 
such schools. 

2. None of these facts are applicable to elementary and second- 
ary schools. The elementary schools must be at the very doors 
of the people, and secondary schools within a few miles. If this 
is not the case, only a few will get even a rudimentary education. 
Nor is this all. It is true Canada needs great leaders to-day, 
and these must be provided in higher schools, but where one such 
leader is required hundreds of skilled and intelligent workmen are 
needed, and these must be provided out of the school-age group, 



Federal and Provincial Revenue 145 

and they must be trained first in primary schools, and then in 
those of secondary rank. These schools must be very different 
from the narrow academic school of the past, for Canadian citi- 
zenship means more than it meant in the past. 

3. Then again, a system of education that puts the emphasis 
on the top is not going to produce even the great leaders it seeks. 
These must come up by way of the primary and secondary 
schools ; and under a system where only one half of one per cent 
of the children enrolled are found as far advanced even as grade 
eight, there is no material ready to man the higher schools when 
established. (See page 63). 

This can be readily seen in the numbers in attendance at some 
of these schools in 1915-16. In view of the large government 
grants, these figures should be generally known. 

STATISTICS FROM THE REPORT OF FOUR VOCATIONAL 
SCHOOLS, 191 5-16 

Value of Annual Expendi- Students Cost 

Institution Plant Government ture for the Enrolled per 

Grant Year Student 

Higher Commercial 

School (Montreal) $656,750 $50,000 $57,265 46 $1,244.00 
Polytechnic School 

(Montreal) 207,882 55,ooo 95,651 140 683.00 

Technical School 

(Montreal) 659,304 40,000 88,970 269 330.00 

Technical School 

(Quebec) 423.965 36,000 52,935 88 601 .00 

Higher education in the province of Quebec is in no great need 
of government help. This kind of education is always to the 
fore. Rich men give of their money by millions, for the erection 
of new buildings, the establishing of chairs, and the building up of 
scholarships and great endowments. On the other hand, primary 
and secondary schools are left almost entirely to the local tax- 
payers, and as the local taxpayers are often very selfish and 
always very watchful of expenditures, these branches of education 
are almost stationary and can only be rapidly and fundamentally 
changed for the better by application of a financial remedy such as 
has been outlined. 

In the United States at various times the Federal government 
has given financial assistance to state educational institutions. 
10 



146 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

In 1836, $28,000,000, the larger part of the balance in the federal 
treasury was handed over to the states and used by most of them 
for education. In 1862, during the Civil War, President Lincoln 
gave his assent to a bill granting to the states for agricultural 
education thirty thousand acres of land for each senator and 
representative. At the present time each state agricultural col- 
lege receives annually from the Federal government $40,000, 
and each agricultural experimental station, $28,000. 

By the Smith-Hughes Act, approved on February 23, 1917, 
the principle of federal aid was extended to include industrial 
education in its wide sense. More definite directions were 
laid down as to the expenditure of this money, and provision 
made for a general federal supervision of the schools thus estab- 
lished and maintained. For the carrying out of the policy, a 
Federal Board for Vocational Education was created. 

Like the Canadian grants for agricultural education these 
grants are progressive, as follows : 

1917-18 $1,860,000 

1918-19 2,512,000 

1919-20 3,182,000 

1920-21 3,836,000 

1921-22 4,329,000 

1922-23 4,832,000 

1923-24 5,318,000 

1924-25 6,380,000 

Annually thereafter . 7,367,000 

The appropriations are to be used for four main purposes: 
First, for salaries of teachers, supervisors and directors of agri- 
cultural education; second, for salaries of teachers in schools 
dealing with trade, home economics and industry; third, for 
salaries of teachers in teachers' training schools and for the 
maintenance of such schools; fourth, for overhead expenses in 
connection with the Federal Board for Vocational Education . 
For every dollar of federal money appropriated, an equal amount 
must be furnished by the state, or local community or both. 

There has grown up in some quarters the fear that by means 
of these grants the federal authorities would feel that they had 
bought the right to dictate to the state its educational policy. 
The officers of the Federal Board most emphatically deny this 
and claim that their aim is to furnish the fullest information, to 



Federal and Provincial Revenue 147 

reveal new needs, to experiment, to provide constructive and 
helpful supervision, and, where it is needed, to point out where 
expert leadership may be found. 

The Federal Board is made up of three cabinet ministers, of 
the present Commissioner of Education, and of three laymen. 
These seven men deal with policy but place the administration of 
the system in the hands of a director and three assistant directors, 
one for Home Economics, Trade and Industry^ one for Commerce 
and Agriculture, and one for Research. 

In almost every state the state government has named the 
regular Department of Education to cooperate with the Federal 
Board in carrying out the plans of the joint board thus estab- 
lished. In forty-four states out of the forty-six the Superintend- 
ent of Public Instruction is also the leader of the cooperative 
vocational work, and a dual control is in this way avoided. 

This act marked the second important step on the road toward 
general federal aid for education. The promoters of the Smith- 
Hughes Act give four fundamental ideas upon which their co- 
operative system is based: 

"First, that vocational education being essential to the na- 
tional welfare, it is a function of the National Government to 
stimulate the States to undertake this new and needed form of 
service; second, that Federal funds are necessary in order tO" 
equalize the burden of carrying on the work among the States; 
third, that since the Federal Government is vitally interested in 
the success of vocational education, it should, so to speak,, pur- 
chase a degree of participation in the work; and fourth, that only 
by creating such a relationship between the central and the local 
Government can proper standards of educational efifitdency be 
set up." 

Every one of these principles, in even a greater degree, is appli- 
cable to general elementary education without which no other 
education is possiblie. Having once admitted the validity of 
these "fundamental ideas," legislation could not consistentHy 
stop at vocational education. This is recognized in: the Smith- 
Towner bill introduced in the House of Representatives at 
Washington May 19, 1919. The bill has been fortunate in com- 
mittee, and there are the strongest reasons to believe that it will 
become law. It provides for the formation, of a regular Federal 
Department of Education with secretary and assistants, and for 



148 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

the merging of the old Bureau of Education in the new depart- 
ment. 

The Smith-Towner bill calls for an annual appropriation of 
$100,000,000 to start with; to be used as follows: 

First. $500,000 for administrative purposes. 

Second. $7,500,000 for removal of illiteracy, to be appor- 
tioned to the states in the proportions which their respective 
illiterate populations of ten years of age and over, bears to the 
total illiterate population of the United States. 

Third. $7,500,000 for Americanization of immigrants, dis- 
tributed on the same principle as the last named grant. 

Fourth. $50,000,000 for equalizing educational opportunities, 
to be apportioned to the states, one half in the proportions that 
the number of children between the ages of six and twenty-one 
of the respective states bear to the total number of such children 
in the United States, and one half in the proportions which the 
number of public school teachers employed in teaching positions 
in the respective states bear to the total number of public school 
teachers employed in the United States. 

Fifth. $20,000,000 for physical education apportioned accord- 
ing to population. 

Sixth. $15,000,000 for preparation of teachers, apportioned to 
the states in proportion to the number of teachers actually em- 
ployed. 

In order to share in these grants, the state legislature must 
formally accept the provisions of the bill, and name its chief 
educational officer, of whatever title, to represent the state in the 
administration of the act. No money will be granted to any 
state unless a sum equally as large is provided by state or local 
authorities, or both for the same purpose. 

In order that no state may feel that any of its rights are being 
interfered with the bill expressly states: "That this act shall not 
be construed to require uniformity of plans, means, or methods in 
the several states in order to secure the benefits herein provided. 
. , . That all the educational facilities encouraged by the 
provisions of this act and accepted by a state shall be organized, 
supervised and administered exclusively by the legally con- 
stituted state, and the local educational authorities of such state." 

What has this to do with our problem in Canada? It would be 
provincial of us to claim jthat we do not wish to imitate the 



Federal and Provincial Revenue 149 

United States. The two countries are similarly situated, and 
naturally would look for a similar solution of most of their prob- 
lems. It is useless to claim that our educational system is at 
present satisfactory. Such a claim can be based only on igno- 
rance or stupidity or both. 

After the Franco-Prussian War France made her school system 
one of the great departments of her national government. Eng- 
land, after the late war started, made plans on a national scale 
for the reconstruction and extension of her educational system. 
And now our nearest neighbor, the great democratic Republic, 
is making plans looking forward to a national system in which 
burdens will be equalized and the highest standards maintained, 
and that without interfering with state rights. 

The time has certainly come in Canada for a great progressive 
move. Those who see only vocational education are urging for 
federal grants and have been told they will be forthcoming. 
Are we to copy only the mistakes of the United States, first form 
a weak bureau of education and then a vocational commission, 
thus making a mere patchwork of our administrative system — 
or are we to strike out boldly and establish a department of 
education that will correlate the federal schemes, and frame and 
carry out a policy in harmony with Canadian needs and Cana- 
dian traditions? 

In the United States there are no separate schools in the State 
systems. Where Roman Catholic people want separate schools 
they have to build and support them out of private funds. 
These parochial schools so-called will not receive aid from federal 
funds. Consequently, some members of the Catholic com- 
munion in the United States are not in favour of the Smith- 
Towner Bill. There would not be the same objection in the 
province of Quebec as all schools in that province are a part of 
the provincial system and would be given aid according to 
their need. 

Some Canadians of good intention look forward to a day when 
Quebec will have a system of non-sectarian schools in which one 
language will be taught, and in which Catholic and Protestant 
will sit side by side. These hope to hasten that day by the estab- 
lishment of a federal Department of Education. Those who 
persist in this idea have not carefully studied the history and 
development of the present system, nor properly measured the 



Igo School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

strength and persistence of religious and race characteristics. 
For generations to come there will be two populations in the prov- 
ince, and, so long as this continues, the dual system of schools is 
a democratic and not unsatisfactory compromise. 

The French majority in the province have scrupulously 
respected the rights of the English minority. In the Dominion 
as a whole, the English speaking are in the majority and the 
rights of the minority are protected by the British North 
Am^erica Act. 

Under the Federal Board of Education proposed, the rights of 
minorities would have to be amply protected, and the adminis- 
tration of the system of education left in the hands of the pro- 
vincial authorities. 

The two races in Quebec have much in common and believe 
that nothing is to be gained by emphasizing differences, and 
appealing to race prejudice. All leaders of the two populations 
will do well to work for a better understanding, and accept the 
slow and natural process of amalgamation, rather than attempt, by 
forcing the authority of the majority, to pass legislation against 
the wishes of a conscientious minority be it French or English, 
Protestant or Catholic. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

The following sources have been used in the preparation of this 
monograph: 

QUEBEC 

Statutes of Lower Canada, 1791-1841. 

Statutes of Canada (meaning the united Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada), 

1841-1867. 
Statutes of the Province of Quebec, 1867-1915. 

Reports of the Superintendent of Public Instruction of Quebec, 1900-1916. 
Municipal Code of Quebec, as revised in 1916. 
Educational Statistics of Quebec, 19 15-16. 
Quebec Statistical Year Book, 1915-16. 

Financial Statement of School Corporation of Quebec, 1915-16. 
Municipal Statistics of Quebec, 19 15-16. 
Public Accounts of the Province of Quebec, 1915-16. 
School Law and Regulations of the Protestant Committee of Quebec compiled 

by Dr. G. W. Parmelee. 
Regulations of the Catholic Committee of Public Instruction for Quebec. 
Report of the School Attendance Committee of the Provincial Association of 

Protestant Teachers of Quebec, 19 18. 
Report of the Commission on Salaries and Shortage of Teachers, appointed by 

the Provincial Association of Protestant Teachers of Quebec, 1918. 
Report of the United States Commissioner of Education, Washingtoii,, 191 7 

(Vol. 2). 
Report on Wealth, Debt, and Taxation, United States Census Bureau, 1913 

(Vols. 1-2). 
Reports and Bulletins of the National Tax Association of the United States, 

1907-1917. 
Report of the Canadian Royal Commission on Industrial Training and Tecli- 

nical Education, Ottawa, 19 13. 
School Laws of the different Provinces and States. 

Reports of the Educational Departments of the different Provinces and States. 
Reports of the Bureau of the Census, Canada, 1891, 1901, 191 1. 
Report of the Special Commission on Revenue and Taxation, Nebraska, 1914. 
Statistics of Municipal Finance, Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics, 1918. 
Municipal Statistics, Ontario, 19 15-19 16. 

Census and Statistics Monthly, Ottawa, Canada, February, 1917. 
Canadian Provincial Budget Systems, No. 87, 191 7 (Bureau of Municipal 

Research, New York). 
Report of the Assessment Commission, St. John, New Brunswick, 1916. 
English Educational Act, 1918. 
Imperial Education Conference Papers, 19 13. 
The Canadian Year Book, 1911-1918. 

151 



152 School Funds in the Province of Quebec 

Canadian Municipal Statistics, 1917 (Wood, Gundy & Co., Toronto). , 
The Canadian Almanack, 1915-18 (Copp, Clark Co., Ltd., Toronto), 
The Canadian Annual Review, 1912-1918. 

The Commercial Hand Book of Canada (Heaton's Annual), 1916. 
Public Accounts, Province of Ontario, 1916. 

The following secondary authorities have been used : 

Adams, Thos. S. (Cornell University). Addresses and Reports in connection 
with the National Tax Association. 

Bullock, Chas. J. (Harvard University). Addresses and Reports in connec- 
tion with the National Tax Association. 

Carey, C. P. Education in Wisconsin, 1014-16. 

Coleman, John. Public Education in Upper Canada. (Teachers College.) 

CuBBERLEY, E. P. School Funds and Their Apportionment. (Teachers Col- 
lege.) 

Cubberley, E. p. School Organization and Administration. (Macmillan.) 

Desrosiers, Abb6 Adelard. "French Education in Quebec, 1763-1913," 
in Canada and Its Provinces (Vol. XVI). 

Daniels, Hon. O. T. Address at convention, Moncton, N. B., 1918. 

DuTTON and Snedden. Administration of Public Education. (Macmillan.) 

Federal Board for Vocational Education (U. S.), Bulletin No. i. (Wash- 
ington.) 

GossELiN, Abb6 a. E. "Elementary and Secondary French Education," in 
Canada and Its Provinces (Vol. XVI). 

Hopkins, J. Castell. Article on "Education" in Canadian Annual Review, 

HoDGiNs, J. George. Documentary History of Education in Upper Canada, 
1791-1876. 

Montreal Gazette, 1919. 

Parmelee, G. W. "English Education in Quebec," in Canada and Its Prov- 
inces (Vol. XVI). 

Seligman, Edwin R. A. (Columbia University). Various works and addresses 
on Taxation. 

Strayer and Thorndike. Educational Administration. (Macmillan.) 

Strayer, G. D. Various Reports and Addresses. 

Swift, F. H. Public Permanent Common School Funds of the United States. 
(Henry Holt.) 



INDEX 



Apportionment of grants, 31, 53-55, 

112-114, 142-143 
Attendance of children, 61-67 
Birth rates in Quebec and elsewhere, 

69 
Brome County, municipalities of, 47, 

48 
Census of children, 27, 58-60, 67-70 
Charon, school of, 8 
Chambly County, 88, 89, iii 
Clergymen to act as trustees, 15 
Collection roll, 49 
Commercial High School, Montreal, 

34. 145 
Commission of 1787, 10 

on Industrial Training and Techni- 
cal Education, 138 

on School Attendance, 59, 66 

on Salaries, 99-102 

on Taxation, 108, 128-131, 136 
Confederation, effect on education, 

28, 29 
Conquest, effect on schools, 7 
Cost of education, 51-53, 62 
Corporations, tax on, 33 
Council of Public Instruction, 28, 30, 

31. 142 
Cutten, President, on Federal Act, 

138 
Dissentient schools, 19, 23, 29, 81 . 
Distribution of tax rates, 73-86, 103, 

I11-114 
Elimination and retardation, 63-67 
Exemption from taxation, 49, 90, 91, 

103, 104 
Federal aid for schools, 138-148 
Federal Board of Education, 5, 149, 

150 
Federal debt, 123; Income, 134, 135; 

Subsidies, 124-126; Revenues, 123 
Fisher Educational Bill, 122 
French regime, 7-1 1 



Grants for the support of education, 

7, 13-16, 31, 53-55, 84-86, III- 

114, 120, 121 
Income of the Province, 115-118 
Income tax, 131-136; in Canada, 134; 

in United States, 134; in various 

places, 133 
Jews, children of, 34, 41 
Jesuits, schools of, 7, 10 
Jesuits' Estates Fund, 25-27, 36, 37 
Lancaster, Joseph, schools of, 16 
Law of 1824, 12, 13; 1830, 15; 1832, 

16; 1841 and 42, 19-21; 1845 and 

46, 22, 23; 1849, 24; 1851, 24; 1853, 

26-28 
Macdonald College, 25-26 
Magog, School Act of 1890, 31 
Marriage license fees, 38 
Massachusetts, school tax in, 75-77; 

income tax, 132-133 
McGill Normal School, 25, 26 
Michigan, valuation of property in, 

108, no 
Monthly fees, 40, 41 
Municipal government, 46 
Municipalities, 75, 77 
Montreal schools, 23, 32-35, 90, 107 
New Brunswick, 29, 40, 85, 86 
Nebraska, Tax Commission of, 128 
Non-residents, 49 
Normal schools, 8, 16, 17, 24, 26 
Number of children, 58-69 
Ontario, receipts for education, 56, 

12, 73 
Ottawa County, 87, 88, in 
Parmalee, Dr. G. W., 59, 152 
Panels of assessment roll, 32, 35 
Pensions, 42, 44 
Permanent funds, 35-37 
Prince Edward Island, 29, 85, 140 
Private schools, 50, 51 
Protestant Committee, 37, 142 



153 



154 



School Funds in the Province of Quebec 



Provincial Association of Protestant 
Teachers, 59-61, 100, loi 

Public Account, 52, 53, 56 

Quebec (city), 23, 32, 33, 34 

Quebec (county), 87, 88 

Quebec, income of, 114-118; debt of 
116, 118; roads of, 119-121 

Rates, comparison of, 73-87 

Rebellion in Canada, 16-18 

Retardation and elimination, 63-67 

Rexford, Rev. E. I., 31, 59 

Richmond, School Act of 1888, 31 

Robertson, Dr. J. W., on Federal 
Aid, 138 

Royal Institution of Learning, 12, 15, 
25, 26 

Rural compared with urban munic- 
ipalities, 88-92 

Salaries of Teachers, 51, 94-97, loi, 
102, 121 

St. Joachim, school at, 7 

St. Foye, school at, 8 

Seligman, Prof. E. R. A., on Taxa- 
tion, 122, 127, 129, 137 

Separate schools, 19, 23, 29, 81 

School population, 66-69 

School taxes, 73-79 

Smith-Hughes Act in the U. S., 146, 

147 
Smith-Towner Bill in the U. S., 147, 

148 
Sources of Funds, 64 



Special assessments, 50 

Stanstead County compared with 

Chambly, 88, 89 
Strayer, Prof. G. D., on Federal Aid, 

139 

Superintendent of Education, 22, 31 

Sutherland, J. C, on Teachers' Sal- 
aries, loi 

Taxes, burden of unequal, 76, 77-80, 
92, 103, III, 114 

Tax commission, of Michigan, 108- 
iio; of Nebraska, 128 

Tax, income, 131-138 

Taxation, principles of, 103, 122, 126- 
138 

Teachers' salaries, 51, 96-102, 121; 
Number and training, 95-98; 
Scarcity of, 59-61, 121 

Three Rivers, Act of 1882, 31 

Tithes, permission to use for schools, 
12 

Taxation of federal property, 104 

Urban compared with rural munic- 
ipalities, 88-92 

Valuation of property, 72, 104-111 

Vital Statistics, 68-70 

Vocational schools, 138, 145-147 

Western Canada, 29, 30, 39, 67, 68, 
70, 71, 85, 86, 140 

Women teachers, to receive grants, 
27; training and salaries, 95-99 



VITA 

George Johnstone Trueman was born in Point de Bute, West- 
moreland County, New Brunswick, Canada, on January 30, 1872. 
His father was Howard Trueman, a farmer whose progenitors 
had settled on the same land in 1775, having come from York- 
shire, England. His mother was Jean Main, whose father, John, 
was from Dumfries, Scotland, and whose mother, Jean Johnstone, 
was from Creetown, Scotland. 

George Trueman was educated in the village school and Mt, 
Allison Academy, Sackville. He attended the Provincial Normal 
School, Fredericton, in 1890-91, and taught for seven years in the 
Superior Schools at Sackville and St. Martins, N. B. 

In 1902 he took his B. A. at Mt. Allison University, and studied 
in Berlin and Heidelberg, Germany, in 1902-03, under Friedrich 
Paulsen, Wilhelm Miinch, Eric Schmidt, and Kuno Fischer. He 
returned to Mt. Allison in 1903, where he taught French and 
gave lectures in Forestry. He took his M. A. at Mt. Allison in 
the summer of 1904, and for the next four years taught in the 
St. Andrews High School and the Riverside Consolidated School, 
both in New Brunswick. 

In 1908 he was appointed principal of the Stanstead Wesleyan 
College at Stanstead, Quebec, and this position he has held ever 
since. 

He attended Teachers College, Columbia University, for the 
full academic year, 1913-14, and returned for the summer sessions 
of 1917, 1918, 1919. 

In 1897 he married Agnes Fawcett, daughter of the late W. W. 
Fawcett, Esq., of Sackville, N. B. 



